China-Arab Summit Opens Up New Prospects for China-Sudan Cooperation -- Remarks by Ambassador Ma Xinmin at the “China-Arab Summit: Practical Challenges and Development Prospects” Seminar
2022-12-08 06:00

(Friendship Hall, Khartoum, December 7, 2022)

Your Excellency Ambassador Ali Yousuf, Secretary General of the Association of Arab-Chinese Friendship Societies,

Your Excellency Ambassador Mohammad Abdulallah, Director of Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

Your Excellency Ambassador Mohammad Maoulainine,Dean of Diplomatic Corps,

Your Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Friends and colleagues,

Good morning. As we speak, the first China-Arab summit will be held from December 7 to 9, 2022. This is a significant gathering of China and Arab states to renew friendship and discuss ways to promote common development. At this historical moment, we are gathered here to discuss the reality and future of relations between China and Sudan and other Arab countries. The timing of this seminar cannot be more appropriate. Let me begin by extending, on behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Sudan, warm congratulations to Ambassador Ali and Association of Arab-Chinese Friendship Societies on the opening of this well-prepared seminar, and a hearty welcome to all participating guests. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to all those who have promoted China’s relations with Sudan and other Arab countries with long-term dedication and commitment.

China and Arab states are always close partners linked by hearts and aspirations. Over the past seven decades and more, China and Arab countries have made concerted efforts, come rain or shine, to pursue national independence and liberation, to safeguard national sovereignty and dignity, to ensure peace and security, and to conceive plans for development and revitalization. In a time of enormous changes and uncertainty, our friendship continues and is more valuable than gold. Sudan is an important member of the Arab family. Led by the leaders of our two countries, China-Sudan strategic partnership has braved the headwinds and become a trailblazer and a shining example in keeping China-Arab friendship alive and strong, showing remarkable resilience and vitality.

China-Sudan strategic partnership has remained rock-solid and set a good example for political mutual trust between China and Arab countries. The top leaders of our two countries have built friendship on sincerity, and our political mutual trust has been enhanced constantly. On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China-Sudan diplomatic relations, the two leaders sent each other congratulatory messages, pointing the way for our bilateral relations. Since the start of Sudan’s political transition, Chinese President Xi Jinping and President of Sudan’s Sovereign Council Burhan have exchanged letters several times. The coming first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of the first China-Arab summit will steer the course of bilateral relations. Also, phone calls between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Sudanese Prime Minister Hamdok and between Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Sudanese counterparts injected vitality to the progress of bilateral relations. Successful visits to Sudan by Special Envoy of the Chinese Government on the Middle East Issue Zhai Jun, Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry Xue Bing and Ambassador Li Lianhe of the Department of West Asian and North African Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry further reinforced our consensus on promoting bilateral friendship and cooperation. What’s more, we have had a successful political consultation at the vice foreign ministerial level and kept close exchanges on political, diplomatic, business, and educational fronts. No matter how the situation may evolve, the original aspiration of keeping China-Sudan friendship going through generations will remain unchanged, our pursuit of win-win cooperation and commitment to fairness and justice will remain the same.

Mutual support between China and Sudan has remained steadfast and strong and been a manifestation of solidarity between China and Arab countries. Our two nations have for a long time forged ahead side by side to find our own path to independent development. We also coordinated with each other in international affairs and rendered mutual support on issues concerning each other’s core interests and major concerns, with no strings attached. This year, our mutual support has grown even stronger. On the Taiwan question, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Al-Sadiq said in a statement that Sudan supports the one-China principle and backs China’s efforts to uphold national sovereignty and territorial integrity. At the 51st regular session of the Human Rights Council concluded not long ago, Sudan voted against a draft decision on Xinjiang region put forward by certain countries in an attempt to interfere in China’s internal affairs. Sudan has also responded actively to the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and the Global Security Initiative (GSI) proposed by China. China highly commends these acts of justice. China has also spoken up for Sudan at the UN Security Council, the UN Human Rights Council and other multilateral settings to uphold justice for Sudan. China opposes illegal interference and unilateral sanctions against Sudan and calls on the international community to respect Sudan’s sovereignty and create momentum for Sudan’s political transition and economic growth.

Mutually-beneficial cooperation between China and Sudan has advanced steadily and blazed a trail for China-Arab win-win cooperation. With an early start and solid foundations, China-Sudan cooperation has kept growing over the years. China is now the second largest trading partner of Sudan. More than 130 Chinese companies have invested and done business here, whereby our two countries share development opportunities and the fruits of cooperation and work together for a bright future. The recent years have seen continual progress in our cooperation in oil, agriculture, mining, trade, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications and infrastructure. A group of cooperative projects have been delivered with concrete results. In November, two economic and technical cooperation agreements were signed successively by the two sides, under which China will provide a grant assistance of 90 million yuan and increase the amount of grant assistant for the second phase of new presidential palace technical cooperation to over 17 million yuan. This is the new progress in China’s assistance to Sudan. On the transport front, China’s Chery Automobile entered the Sudanese market last year, while this year has witnessed the successful launch of Sudan-China express shipping service by Greenroad International Logistics and the delivery of 34 export locomotives manufactured by CRRC Ziyang. This is a new breakthrough in our cooperation in the transport sector. In addition, we have achieved new progress in the improvement of people’s wellbeing. The maternal and child health project successfully completed by the UNICEF with strong support of the Chinese government has benefited over 70,000 local residents in the West Darfur State. Construction of the China-aid slaughter house is about to start, while the well drilling and water supply project is expected to break ground next month. What’s more, China-Sudan cooperation in agriculture and mining has kept expanding. The cotton industry chain has been extended, while the acreage and trade with respect to peanuts, sesame and other crops has been growing. With the entry of Wanbao Mining and other Chinese companies, a mining industry chain integrating prospecting, exploitation, processing and testing will be built as a new driver of bilateral cooperation and Sudan’s economic growth. With concrete actions, we have demonstrated that China-Sudan cooperation delivers win-win results and benefits the people.

People-to-people ties between China and Sudan have grown firmer and contributed to mutual learning between Chinese and Arab civilizations. Our exchanges and cooperation in cultural and educational fields and between the youth have been flourishing with a strong momentum. China-Sudan cultural cooperation dates back to 1971 when the Sudanese Acrobatic Troupe, the flower of Sudan-China Friendship, was established. Over the years, our cultural and educational exchanges and cooperation have continued to produce fruitful results. We have worked together to build three friendship schools with friendship multimedia classrooms, and launch two friendship multimedia centers in the local community and in the Sudan University of Science and Technology respectively. We have helped the Sudanese Acrobatic Troupe renovate its rehearsal room and provided it with much better stage props and equipment. Also, four “Chinese Ambassador’s Book Houses” were launched in the University of Khartoum and other three universities. The Chinese Language Teaching Union in Sudan was founded to facilitate Chinese language teaching and promote Chinese culture in the country. Government scholarships were offered by China to more than 200 Sudanese students to finance their studies in China, and professional skills training was provided for over 1,200 local people. The Confucius Institute at the University of Khartoum has offered Chinese language classes to over 30,000 Chinese language learners since its establishment 13 years ago. The proven friendship between our two countries has been deeply embedded in the hearts of our Sudanese friends.

Mutual assistance between China and Sudan has been in a new chapter and underpinned the shared future of China and Arab states. The people of China and Sudan are good friends who reach out to each other during trying times. Over the past 51 years, the Chinese medical assistance team to Sudan remains committed to providing good medical services for the local people. So far, a total of 1,111 medical workers have been dispatched in 37 teams here. They have offered medical services to 8.27 million sick people, including over 300,000 hospitalized patients, and conducted nearly 220,000 operations. In recent years, our medical and health cooperation has continued to expand. The Protocol of the Chinese Medical Assistance Team to Sudan was renewed to pave the way for the next stage of our medical cooperation. In addition to the current three China-Sudan friendship hospitals, we have established the mechanism of pairing up Chinese and Sudanese hospitals, and worked actively to advance the construction of the orthopedic disease treatment center, in a joint endeavor to scale up our health cooperation. To help Sudan tide over COVID-19 and flooding, China has sent a 20-person medical expert team, donated over 20 batches of medical and relief supplies, 250,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines and multiple batches of medical devices and drugs. A number of Chinese entities operating in Sudan, including CNPC (Nile) International Ltd, NORINCO, North Mining’s Sahara Company, CHEC Eastern Africa Division, Huawei, New Epoch Agricultural Development Company, Shanghai Sudan Pharmaceuticals Ltd and Chinese Miners Association in Sudan, also contributed their share to helping local people live and study in better conditions. They have donated daily necessities, teaching aids and relief supplies, and helped communities build schools, water wells and roads. This is a true testament to profound friendship between our two peoples.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Friends,

As a Chinese saying goes, “One may precede others when he leverages strengths, one must succeed if he creates favorable conditions.” The 20th CPC National Congress successfully concluded in October offers a broader space for our strategic partnership. The complementarity of resource industries of our two countries means vast potential of China-Sudan cooperation. China will work with Sudan to implement the consensus reached on the first China-Arab summit so that we will open up a new chapter of our strategic partnership.

Here, I would like to express my three hopes.

First, we should bolster the political foundation for China-Sudan relations by continuing to show each other firm support. It is important for us to show greater mutual support on issues concerning each other’s core interests, maintain closer communication and coordination on international affairs, and deepen the sharing of governance experience, so that we can expand our strategic consensus and enhance political mutual trust. China will follow the principles of sincerity, real results, amity and good faith in pursuing its strategic partnership with Sudan, and respect as always Sudan’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity as well as its people’s efforts to find a development path suited to its national conditions. China will support Sudan in building up consensus and advancing its political transition independently so as to realize national peace, stability and progress. China will continue to work with Sudan to maintain close coordination on regional and international affairs, uphold the UN-centered international system, oppose unilateralism and bullying practices, and safeguard the common interests of developing countries at large, thus building a China-Arab community with a shared future.

Second, we should bolster the economic foundation for China-Sudan relations by upholding win-win cooperation. It is important for us to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. While implementing the Nine Programs announced at the FOCAC ministerial conference and the follow-up actions of the first China-Arab summit, we should seize these opportunities to enhance synergy between our development strategies and policies, facilitate the upgrading of our cooperation in traditional fields like oil, agriculture, education, health and human resources training. Meanwhile, we should create new growth drivers through cooperation in the economy of regions bordering the Red Sea and the Nile, and in industries like modern agriculture, animal husbandry and mining, and construction of such infrastructure as satellite navigation, airports and ports. In this way, more people in both countries will benefit from our two mutually beneficial cooperation. Going forward, China will continue with humanitarian aid and assistance with Sudan’s development and support its capacity building, thus helping boost the Sudanese economy and improve the wellbeing of its people.

Third, we should bolster public support for China-Sudan relations by maintaining exchanges and mutual learning between our civilizations. It is important for us to enhance exchanges and cooperation in cultural and educational fields. The focus of educational cooperation should be on Chinese language teaching and vocational education. Through more frequent exchanges among politicians, media workers and think tanks, and also between the youth, women and primary and middle school teachers of our two countries, we will be able to keep our friendship live and strong through generations.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Friends,

Please allow me to take this opportunity to bid farewell to all friends here, as I will be heading home upon completing my time of 3 years and 11 months as Chinese Ambassador to Sudan. Guided by leaders of our two countries and with concerted efforts from various sides, China-Sudan relations have stood the test and made new progress in the past three years and more. We have consolidated our strategic partnership, expanded bilateral cooperation on various fronts and made our people-to-people ties closer. Our bilateral relationship keeps growing with good momentum and broad prospects. This is attributable to the wisdom and strenuous efforts by our Sudanese friends from various sectors and our Chinese people in the country.

I want to express, before I leave, my greatest thanks to all friends who have dedicated themselves to China-Sudan friendship and those who have always given me support and assistance during my work. I am looking forward to seeing you again. May China and Sudan enjoy prosperity and our two peoples live in peace. May China and Sudan enjoy everlasting friendship.

To conclude, I wish the seminar a full success. Thank you.


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