A senior Arab League (AL) official said on Monday that Arab
countries have responded positively to initiatives put forward by
China to promote bilateral ties, while envisaging the establishment
of a strategic relationship between the two sides.
"Arab countries are paying attention to pushing forward their
ties with China," AL Assistant Secretary-General Ahmed Ben Hali
told Xinhua.
He said the Arab world would like to take steps to promote
cooperation with China, which he termed as a political and economic
heavyweight in the world.
"Arab countries are willing to deepen cooperation with China
based on wise partnership and strong links," he said, expressing
his hope that bilateral ties would move in the direction of shaping
a strategic relationship.
He added that the second ministerial meeting of the Sino-Arab
Cooperation Forum, due in the Chinese capital of Beijing on May 31
and June 1, would play a positive role in strengthening ties
between the two sides.
The first such meeting was held in the Cairo-based AL
headquarters in September 2004.
Arab leaders are expected to gather in the Sudanese capital of
Khartoum on March 28-29 to discuss pressing regional issues. The
main agenda items will be the volatile situation in Iraq, the
Palestinian-Israeli peace process (in light of the political
victory of the radical Hamas group), and the host's Darfur
issue.
(Xinhua News Agency March 28, 2006)
