KUWAIT: TheAmbassador of the People's Republic of China to the State of Kuwait Li Minggangreleased the following statement on the occasion of the first anniversary ofthe visit of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah toChina.
In July 2018, HisHighness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah paid astate visit to China and attended the opening ceremony of the 8th MinisterialMeeting of China-Arab States Cooperation Forum at the invitation of ChinesePresident Xi Jinping. This is the seventh time that His Highness visited China,and also the first time he visited China in nine years, which has played animportant role in reviewing the China-Kuwait relations in the past and pavingthe way for the future.
During the visit,President Xi held talks with His Highness the Amir. The two leaders agreed toestablish strategic partnership between the two countries, and reachedimportant consensus on enhancing pragmatic cooperation in various fields andwitnessed the signing of several documents of bilateral cooperation.
As thehead-of-state diplomacy has always been an important driving force for therapid development of the relations between the two countries, the talks betweenPresident Xi and His Highness the Amir have charted a plan and direction forthe development of the China-Kuwait relations in the new era, have opened new horizons for both countries,like a beacon which guides and ensures the development of the bilateralrelations in terms of depth from a higher level and leads the bilateralcooperation in building the 'belt and the road' to more outcomes.
During the pastyear after the visit, both the Chinese and the Kuwaiti sides consider theimplementation of the consensus of the two countries' leaders as a primary goalof promoting the bilateral relations. President Xi and His Highness the Amirexchanged many messages, stressing the need to further strengthen the synergy betweenthe development strategies of the two countries and to deepen pragmaticcooperation. In December last year, the envoy of His Highness the Amir, FirstDeputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-AhmadAl-Sabah visited China and discussed with the Chinese side in particular theways to implement the results of His Highness's visit to China.
The KuwaitiCouncil of Ministers established a special committee to follow up theimplementation process. In February this year, Vice Chairman of the NationalDevelopment and Reform Commission of the People's Republic of China Ning Jizhevisited Kuwait and chaired the first meeting of the Steering Committee forChina-Kuwait Cooperation in the construction of 'Silk City and the FiveIslands,' where they exchanged in-depth views mainly on China-Kuwaitcooperation in the construction of the 'Belt and Road' and 'Silk City and theFive Islands.'
During the secondsession of the 'Belt and Road' Forum for International Cooperation held inApril this year, the Kuwaiti side signed memorandums of understanding with theChina Development Bank and the China Association of City Planning, reflecting anew development achieved by the two countries in pragmatic cooperation underthe framework of jointly building the 'Belt and Road.' In addition, therelevant authorities of both sides are actively working on the implementationof the other cooperation documents signed during the visit of His Highness theAmir concerning economy, trade, investment, smart city and other fields,pushing forward the cooperation in a stable manner.
Reviewing of thedevelopment of the China-Kuwait relations in the past one year shows that thebilateral cooperation in various fields has succeeded in achieving remarkableresults, including the continuous deepening of mutual political trust betweenthe two countries, and the constant support of the fundamental interests ofboth sides as well as in international forums. In addition, the two sides havenot stopped expanding their cooperation in the areas of energy, infrastructure,finance, trade, investment and others.
In 2018,bilateral trade between China and Kuwait had totaled 18.7 billion dollars, withan increase of 55.1 percent from the previous year. China remains Kuwait's largestsource of imports, and second largest export destination and Kuwait's largesttrading partner in non-oil fields. Kuwait is China's ninth largest oilexporter.
China imported23.21 million tons of crude oil from Kuwait, with an increase of 27.2 percentyear-on-year, with a total value of $ 11.9 billion dollars with an increase of68.48 percent year-on-year. By the end of 2018, the total number of projectsthat Chinese companies in Kuwait was 120 worth almost 21.5 billion dollars. Inthe conditions of harsh nature, Chinese builders, with their hard work andoutstanding skills, are offering Kuwaiti society the exceptional competenceinherent in 'Built by China' and making great contributions to advancingKuwait's development.
In order to bringthe two peoples closer together, we have worked together with the local Kuwaitiauthorities to send many Chinese cultural delegations to visit Kuwait forculture exchange, enhanced mutual understanding and friendship between thepeoples of the two countries. At present, the work to complete theestablishment of the Chinese Culture Center is under way on a regular basis,and the two governments are intensively coordinating on mutual visa proceduresto achieve the facilitation of exchange visits between the two peoples. We hopethat our Kuwaiti friends will be able to feel and know China more deeply andbecome a witness, participant and beneficiary of friendship and cooperationbetween China and Kuwait.
The friendlyexchange between China and Kuwait has always been a model for exchange betweenChina and other countries in the region. With the growing instability andambiguity in international relations and the current situation in the region,the stable and right development of China-Kuwait strategic partnership has notonly been a new driving force in promoting peace and development in the region,but also provided new energy to shape a community of shared future for Chinaand all Arab countries and advance the reform of the global administrativesystem and build a community of shared future for mankind.
In the future, wewill work harder together with the Kuwaiti side to implement the consensusreached by the leaders of the two countries, further strengthen the strategicpartnership between China and Kuwait and push forward pragmatic cooperation inall fields under the framework of cooperation in building the 'Belt and Road,'in order to achieve more results and bring more benefits to the two countriesand peoples and jointly write a new chapter of friendship and cooperation.