The Chinese President Xi Jinping asked on September 16, 2013 for an early restart of negotiations for a free trade area (FTA) between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which Xi called an important partner of China. Remarks were made during a meeting with King of Bahrain Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Over 7,300 officials and businesspeople from China and almost 70 other countries gathered in Ningxia Hui autonomous region for an expo, which includes China and Arab States. Xi said, “China and the GCC are important political, economic, trade and energy cooperation partners”. The president went on to say that the two sides must restart China-GCC free trade area negotiations at an early date, as well as reach a win-win agreement in the near future.
The president also asked the two sides to set up a close and extensive relationship. The king also met premier Li Keqiang on September 16, 2013. The king of Bahrain said that the friendship between China and the Arab world will lasts for several hundred, or even several thousand years.
The king added that he is in China in order to push for ties between the two countries, the Gulf Cooperation Council and the entire Arab world.
Photo Credits: China Daily
