On May 12, 2016 local time, Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the opening ceremony of the 7th ministerial meeting of China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF) in Doha. Wang Yi pointed out in his speech that over the past two years, under joint efforts, China-Arab strategic cooperative relations featuring comprehensive cooperation and common development has demonstrated robust vigor and vitality.

China has released its first Arab Policy Paper, and established or elevated strategic partnership with 9 Arab states. China hosted the high-level strategic political dialogue with the Arab states for the first time. China has signed the Memorandum of Understanding on jointly building the Belt and Road with 5 Arab countries and 7 Arab countries have become founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. China has become the second largest collective trading partner of Arab countries. The amount of newly-signed project contracts with Arab countries reached 64.6 billion dollars. Two RMB clearing centers have been established in Arab countries and two joint investment funds have been set up by China and Arab states. China and the Gulf Cooperation Council have substantially concluded commodity trade negotiation in principle, and agreed to reach a free trade agreement within this year. China-Arab Technology Transfer Center has been inaugurated. The construction of the first China-Arab joint national lab has been initiated and the two sides have signed the agreement on building the first union university. At present, there are more than 14,000 Arab students in China and the number of weekly flights between China and Arab states has been increased to 183.

Wang Yi noted that these early-harvest results from the CASCF have demonstrated the huge potential of China-Arab collective cooperation, advanced the theme of peaceful cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual reference, as well as mutual benefit and win-win results, and promoted the leapfrog development of China-Arab strategic cooperative relations in width and depth, setting an example for cooperation among developing countries.