Mdm. Qiu Hong, Assistant Minister of Commerce, attended the opening China (Ningxia) International Investment and Trade Fair 2012 & the 3rd China-Arab Economic Forum and delivered a speech on September 12.

Mdm. Qiu Hong said that China and the Arab countries enjoyed profound traditional friendship, close economic and trade relationship and fruitful cooperation. Bilateral trade volume among China and Arab countries in 2011 amounted to nearly US$ 200 billion with a year-on-year growth of 35%, setting a record high. The investment among China and the Arab countries expanded from petrochemical and light industry to machinery manufacturing and automobile assembly. At the same time, China and the Arab countries also achieved positive results in the fields of finance, tourism and aviation services, which enriched the connotation of the China-Arab economic and trade relations.

Mdm. Qiu Hong pointed out that as two developing economies, China and Arab countries are both in a critical period for the development of economic and social transformation and confronted with the arduous task of improving people's livelihood. China and Arab countries should further cooperate closely and continue to play to their respective advantages in the fields of energy, capital, technology and market, continue to explore new ways of cooperation, enhance the ability to resist external risks and achieve mutual benefit and common development.

Mdm. Qiu Hong put forward four proposals on the development of China-Arab economic and trade cooperation: I. To strengthen economic and trade negotiations, and improve cooperation mechanisms;China and Arab countries should hold bilateral economic and trade joint commissions, strengthen the construction of existing special platform, like, entrepreneurs’ assembly, investment seminars, and Energy Cooperation Conference, and innovate cooperation mechanisms. II.To expand the scale of trade and enhance the level of trade; China and Arab countries should further open up the market, constantly improve the level of trade facilitation, and strive to reach trade volume of US$ 300 billion in 2014. III. To deepen investment and cooperation and promote industrial development; China will continue to encourage enterprises to investment in Arab countries and guide them to invest in areas such as agriculture and manufacturing. IV. To strengthen capacity and share the experience of development; China is willing to share with Arab countries the experience of development and hopes China could learn from beneficial practices from Arab countries through joint research and theoretical discussions, and promote the common development of economy and society.

China-Arab Economic Forum was established in 2010 and it is the 3rd time this year. China-Arab Economic Forum consists of China-Arab Countries Economic and Trade Summit, Infrastructure Investment and Trade Cooperation Branch, Financial Cooperative Branch, Cooperation on Agriculture Branch, Sino-Arab Business Cooperation Branch. Officials from United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Yemen, Mauritania and Kuwait attended the Forum.