Panelists from more than ten countries explored a wide range of topics of common concern at a forum titled “The Belt and Road Initiative Ten Years On: Challenges, Opportunities, and Prospects for China-Middle East Cooperation.”
Organized by the Middle East Council on Global Affairs and Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, the forum was held on April 25 and 26 in Shanghai.
“Last year marked the 10th anniversary of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which emphasized high-quality development in BRI cooperation,” said Wang Dezhong, president of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
Arab countries are the natural partners in BRI cooperation, Wang added. Over the past decade, up to 2022, China had already signed BRI agreements with more than twenty Arab countries, with trade volume between China and Arab states exceeding US$400 billion in 2022.