![](/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/6fe214e2-4c91-4b28-a2dd-b55f40d1e5cf-300x225-1.jpg)
The Chinese-Arab Summit – Catching Up With Technology And The Initiative to Achieve Arab Security
.
Dr. Yasser M. Alobaid
▪️ The knowledge economy or the economy of technology and innovation is the economy of today’s modern world that stimulates the use of science, knowledge and modern digital technologies to achieve and accelerate economic growth. It is also based on effective and high-level education and training systems, in addition to an advanced research, development and innovation system, and relies heavily on information and communication technology. To promote growth and increase prosperity, so that this framework includes economic incentives, modern laws regulating the work of public and private institutions, and investment laws. As economic incentives and flexible laws are important motives for using knowledge in an effective manner, which helps in the prosperity of entrepreneurship, in raising the efficiency of institutions and increasing their production in quantity and quality.
Secondly, the educated and skilled population, where education and capacity-building, especially in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), is considered an essential pillar for an educated generation capable of generating, investing, managing and sharing knowledge. This requires stakeholders involved in the educational system, including administrations, professors, students, and even owners of these institutions (whether the owner is from the private sector or the state itself), to redefine their roles in the knowledge-based economy that is part of a globalized economy. Stakeholders find themselves in the context of a “globally oriented education” that serves a globalized, highly interconnected economy, which makes them compelled to reconcile their need to pursue national education strategies commensurate with their immediate interests, the local environment, the nature of society and its culture, and the legislative, social and educational heritage they possess, and their need On the other hand, to engage in this global educational model and to acquire knowledge and skills of the twenty-first century related to creativity and innovation, to follow international trends in the study of science, to adopt reform initiatives based on international standards, and to adopt quality control mechanisms that raise the level of education and its development.
Third – the innovation system, which is closely linked to the education system, and can benefit from the growth of the local and global stock of knowledge, adapting it to local needs and converting it into valuable products. As the steadily increasing stock of knowledge is reflected in the system of science and innovation consisting of a group of companies, institutions, research centers and universities, which helps this system in investing this knowledge according to local needs to develop a creative economy based on the generation of modern and advanced technologies, new products and creative content. Fourth – a dynamic data infrastructure The process of collecting and processing it, depending on information technologies, facilitates communications that help generate, search for, process and invest data in community service.
▪️ The first Chinese-Arab summit acquires great importance and special significance, as it comes in light of highly complex global conditions for many reasons, foremost of which are the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukrainian crisis and their repercussions on the slowdown in the global economy, supply chains and the high inflation rate in most countries of the world. It also comes about a month and a half after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which was successfully held in Beijing from the 16th to the 20th of October 2022, a conference that determined the features of China’s policies during the next five years and beyond. The leaders of the Arab countries and China will also meet about a month after the 31st regular session of the Arab Summit, which was titled “Reunion”, was held in Algeria on the first and second of November 2022. It is worth noting here that the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, welcomed in his speech In front of the representatives of the member states of the League of Arab States at the Chinese-Arab summit, he said: “The Arab countries need, more than ever before, to strengthen their partnerships across the world.” On November 2, 2022, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on the occasion of the Arab Summit. The League of Arab States, committed to seeking strength through unity in the Arab world, is actively promoting peace and stability in the Middle East and making unremitting efforts to safeguard multilateralism and the common interests of developing countries.” Mutual support and expansion of cooperation in a joint effort to build a bond of common destiny between China and the Arab countries for the new era, in order to create a bright future for Chinese-Arab relations and make contributions to world peace and development. The first Chinese-Arab summit also comes in the wake of the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention Framework Framework on Climate Change (COP27), which was held from the sixth to the eighteenth of November 2022, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.According to a report by the United Nations, climate change is considered the defining issue of our time, and we are now facing a critical moment.The global effects of climate change Climate is wide-ranging and unprecedented in scale, from changing weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of massive floods. legacy. Adapting to these impacts will be more difficult and costly in the future if drastic action is not taken now. Climate change has repercussions for all countries of the world, and China and the Arab countries are no exception. In China, according to a blue book issued by the China Meteorological Authority on August 3, 2021, the most populous country in the world recorded a rise in extreme weather events, such as heavy rains and high temperatures, and witnessed an increase in heavy precipitation in the past six decades. Data from the China Meteorological Authority showed that extreme heat and typhoon intensity in the country had also increased since the 1990s. Several indicators of the climate system indicate that China is likely to experience more extreme weather events as global warming continues. According to a World Bank Group report, released on October 12, 2022, climate change poses a major threat to China’s long-term prosperity. The report indicated that China is in a good position to fulfill its climate commitments and transition to a greener economy, while achieving its development goals. In the Arab region, according to a report of the United Nations Environment Program on November 6, 2022, climate change has emerged as one of the most important factors that exacerbate poverty and human insecurity in the Arab region. Climate change is amplifying the current challenges of water insecurity, low agricultural productivity, and the fragility of land and ecosystem services. As a result, climate change creates social vulnerability, exacerbating existing internal and international conflicts and adding to the refugee crisis and human displacement in the region. The Arab countries have shown on many occasions their response and agreement with China’s call to build a more just and equitable world order, and put forward the concept of “a bond of common destiny for mankind” and the concept of “a bond of common life for man and nature”, as part of humanity’s endeavor to adapt to climate change and mitigate its effects. .
Perhaps the most important characteristic of Chinese-Arab relations is that they are developed relations, based on any indicator for monitoring international relations, and the reason for this is that the stereotype of China in the Arab countries is still good, and the same applies to the stereotype of the Arab countries in China, despite what the two sides are exposed to from time to time. Another attempt to distort the image by Western media and institutions, mainly due to the absence of a history of conflict between the two sides, and also the lack of conflict between their strategic interests in general, and the fact that the Chinese and Arab sides were subjected to similar suffering from a common third party, which is the West, which made the rapprochement Between them has emotional and historical reasons. This was reflected in the Arab support for China in international forums in confrontation with the West, such as the Arab support for China to regain its legitimate seat in the United Nations and its support in human rights issues and issues of sovereignty and territorial integrity, and China’s support for the Arab countries in their just causes, especially in the Palestinian cause.
During the course of official relations between the Chinese and Arab sides that spanned more than sixty-six years, Chinese-Arab relations witnessed remarkable developments and periods of ups and downs, but it did not reach the comprehensive alliance and the ups and downs did not at any time reach the point of crisis at the official and popular levels.
In view of the opportunities available between the Chinese and Arab sides, China will push for the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” project with the countries of the Arab region. In this context, a series of steps will be taken:
First, it will ensure the promotion and activation of the communication policy and the development of the strategy for the construction of ports and maritime facilities. China and Egypt decided to build a belt and road for the Egyptian revitalization plan. Where the two sides established the Suez Zone for economic and trade cooperation in Egypt as a symbolic project and the first harvest of the “Belt and Road” project. Similar to the economic and commercial cooperation zone in Egypt, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, and other countries are discussing with China ways to develop cooperation in the field of establishing industrial poles. China had discussed the prospects of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s vision 2030 and Jordan’s vision 2025 and their relationship to the “Belt and Road” project, as Sudan is facing a great challenge to set its plan for inspiration 2022-2032.
Secondly, China will also play an active role in resolving hot issues in the Arab region with other powers, relevant countries and international organizations in order to create a safe and stable regional environment for building the “Belt and Road” project. China has already played a role in the “5 plus 1” negotiations related to the Iranian nuclear program, which resulted in the comprehensive plan of action, and China has appointed a special envoy to Syria to play a mediating role.
Third, China will strengthen its economic cooperation with the countries of the Middle East. China will also work to expand the field of cooperation in the oil and gas sectors between producing and supplying countries, in addition to achieving leadership in the field of solar energy, wind energy and other forms of cooperation in the fields of renewable energy. In order to promote the industrialization process in the Arab region, China will work to unify the positions of Arab countries with the aim of implementing joint cooperation in the field of capacity building. China has invested $15 billion in private credit to boost industrialization in the Middle East, and set up joint investment funds totaling $20 billion with the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. China is also preparing to work with Arab countries to establish a special cooperation project in the field of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, manufacturing and launching satellites into space, exchanging relevant technical expertise and training personnel in charge of it.
Fourth, China will fully open the door to finding a role and mechanism for regional cooperation. It will continue to support the China-Arab Cooperation Forum. It will spare no effort to negotiate with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council to establish arrangements that facilitate intra-regional free trade. China will also consider accepting new members from countries in the region.
The Arab Summit that was held in Algeria on October 27, 2022 10:57, represented by the Economic Integration Department of the League of Arab States, said that there are many important economic files that were presented on the agenda of the 31st Arab Summit in Algeria, most notably: food security and the Greater Arab Free Trade Zone, along with a file Taxes for the digital economy. There are great achievements made in these files, and they will be presented to the Arab leaders. Through the preparatory meetings for the Arab summit in Algeria – there are some new theses on the agenda of the summit within the framework of Arab economic integration, including the mechanism of unifying the unified customs tariff, which needs a political decision similar to what was done in the Gulf Cooperation Council, and what was done in the “COMESA” and the groupings. Other regional, because the negotiation took a long period of time and the matter required a political decision in order to unify the tariff. origin.
And on the issue of digital economy taxes. That the digital economy has become a large part of the economies in the world now, and for the sake of fair competition there must be taxes on the digital economy like the tangible real economy, indicating that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is working on this file in a very large way and 14 Arab countries participate in meetings That organization, however, he said: “But we must prepare ourselves in order to have a unified position in the negotiations on taxes for the digital economy.”
With regard to the food security file, the director of the Economic Integration Department said that the economic file is a matter of time in light of the challenges that have affected the Arab countries in light of the Russian-Ukrainian war, stressing that the food security file has become very important, especially since there are a number of Arab countries that depend more on Russia and Ukraine. In addition, the Arab food gap fluctuates between $35 billion and $45 billion, despite the existence of potentials in the Arab region, whether water, geography, or climate diversity that allows Arab countries to achieve a rise in the percentage of self-sufficiency in most food commodities. .
Especially since a new strategy for food security is on the agenda of the Algiers Summit, indicating that there have been multiple attempts before, most of which have achieved success similar to the Food Security Framework Program, but there is a new strategy presented at the current summit, and there are implementation plans for this strategy with costs allocated to how Finance in order to find resonance in practice. This strategy differs from the previous plans, which were without budgets. He also stressed that the aim of the new strategy for food security is to raise the rate of self-sufficiency, because food security has become a national security, and everyone knows what all countries of the world are suffering because of the Russian-Ukrainian war, and that the Arab region suffers from a large food gap, but at the same time it has The Arab countries have great potential to play the alternative role globally, especially a country like Sudan that has enormous natural resources, especially the availability of river water and rain, in addition to the large stock of groundwater and highly fertile agricultural lands that reach more. 200
One million acres suitable for cultivation, in addition to more than 133 million head of livestock, and the diversity of climate in all parts of Sudan. On the other hand, the mini-summit held between the Chairman of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and Chinese President Xi Jinping this evening, on the sidelines of the Arab-Chinese Summit hosted by the Saudi capital, Riyadh, concluded with a number of understandings that serve bilateral relations between the two countries and enhance cooperation and coordination on issues of concern. Common interest regionally and internationally to achieve common interests.
The Chairman of the Sovereignty Council expressed Sudan’s appreciation for the Chinese positions in support of it in all international forums, reiterating Sudan’s support for China in all issues that strengthen its unity and preserve its right to defend it, as well as Sudan’s support for all Chinese initiatives, especially the peace initiative in the Horn of Africa and the Chinese-Arab summit. Al-Burhan also stressed the need to activate the mechanisms of joint bilateral action between the two countries and address the debt problem in a way that allows for more Chinese cooperation and investment in Sudan, especially in the field of oil, directing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant authorities to expedite the activation and strengthening of everything that would develop and consolidate relations between the two countries.
For his part, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed his country’s keenness to support Sudan and strengthen relations between the two countries in all fields, which leads to strategic relations, pointing out that the Sovereignty Council has a major role in achieving peace and stability in Sudan.
The Chinese president also affirmed his rejection of all foreign interference in the Sudanese internal affairs, praising Sudan’s role in achieving peace in the Horn of Africa and South Sudan through its presidency of the IGAD organization.
Xi Jinping said that China appreciates the great potential that Sudan has and looks forward to more cooperation in the fields of oil, agriculture, mining and infrastructure. He promised to discuss the issue of China’s debts to Sudan as an active member of the China-Arab-African Cooperation Forum, and the Chinese president invited the head of the Sovereignty Council to visit China. As soon as possible, what has been discussed in oil projects, food security, mining, and the transfer of industrial technology from China to Sudan will be completed. On the other hand, the most important things that came in the closing statement of the Sino-Arab summit in Riyadh are:
▪️ Taking into account and appreciating the Chinese endeavors to contribute to spreading international peace and development, including the high-level dialogue for global development through the two initiatives of His Excellency Chinese President Xi Jinping, which are the global security and global development initiatives, which call on the international community to pay attention to development files and re-advance development issues. In the world. In addition to emphasizing the importance of adhering to the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, the two sides are keen to push together cooperation in priority areas within the framework of the Global Development Initiative, and to contribute to accelerating the implementation of the United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030.
▪️ Agree to work with all efforts to build the Arab-Chinese community for a common future towards the new era, to strengthen solidarity and cooperation between the Arab countries and the People’s Republic of China, to support the achievement of the nation’s renaissance for each of them, to promote peace and development in the region, to preserve international justice and fairness and to contribute to the establishment of the future society common to mankind.
▪️ Emphasizing the determination to continue political consultation and exchange of support between the two sides on issues related to their core interests and major concerns, and to strengthen solidarity between them in various international forums on global issues of common concern.
▪️ Emphasizing the firm commitment of the Arab countries to the principle of one China, their support for China’s efforts to preserve its sovereignty and territorial integrity, reaffirming that Taiwan is an integral part of Chinese territory, rejecting Taiwan’s “independence” in all its forms, supporting the Chinese position in the Hong Kong file and supporting China’s efforts to maintain national security and develop and perfect democracy in Hong Kong within the framework of one country, two systems. Appreciating the important efforts made to care for minorities on both the Arab and Chinese sides.
▪️ Enhancing exchange between China and Arab countries in various dimensions and levels, and concerted efforts to face common development challenges.
▪️ Emphasizing the importance of concerted regional and international efforts to find political solutions to regional crises and issues in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy and relevant agreements and references, especially the crises in Syria, Libya and Yemen, and emphasizing the need to preserve the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of these countries, with an emphasis on rejecting foreign interference