The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced – today, Monday – that the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and the Presidents of Egypt, Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, Tunisia, Kais Saied, and the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will visit China this week at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that the visit is scheduled to last from May 28 to June 1, when the leaders will attend the opening ceremony of the Tenth Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum, according to the new Chinese news agency, Xinhua. .
Deputy Foreign Minister Ding Li said during a press conference in Beijing that President Xi Jinping will attend the forum and deliver a speech on Thursday.
He added that Xi “will also hold talks with the four heads of state respectively to exchange views on bilateral relations and regional and international issues of common concern.”
Ding stated that the forum will aim to deepen “compatibility between China and Arab countries,” and will be co-chaired by senior diplomat Wang Yi and his Mauritanian counterpart.
He pointed out that the leaders will have a common position between China and the Arab countries on the Palestinian issue.
Chinese endeavors
This comes at a time when China has made efforts to position itself as a mediator in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian resistance factions, led by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
China has always supported the Palestinian issue and the two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as the Chinese President called for holding an “international peace conference” with the aim of resolving the conflict.
Last November, Beijing hosted a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Palestinian Authority, Indonesia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan to hold talks aimed at “de-escalating” the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
