Joint Press Communiqué between the People's Republic of China and The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), July 7, 2004

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The joint delegation of six finance ministers of member states of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) and the GCC secretary general paid a visit to China from July 4 to 7. At the end of the visit, China and the GCC issued a press communiqué as follows.

The Press Communiqué

At the invitation by the government of the People's Republic of China, the GCC's delegation, which was headed by Finance Minister of the State of Kuwait H.E. Mahmoud Abdelkhaliq Al-Nouri and included Finance and Industrial Minister of State Affairs of the United Arab Emirates H.E. Mohammed Khalfan bin Kharbash, Minister of Finance and National Economy of the Kingdom of Bahrain H.E. Abdulla Hassan Saif, Finance Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia H.E. Ibrahim Bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Assaf, Minister of National Economy and Deputy Chairman of the Financial Affairs and Energy Resources Council of the Sultan State of Amen H.E. Ahmed bin Abdulnabi Macki, Finance Minister of the State of Qatar H.E. Youssef Hussein Kamal and GCC Secretary General H.E. Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al-Attiyah as well as a number of entrepreneurs, paid a visit to the People's Republic of China from July 4 to 7, 2004, in order to develop and strengthen the sound cooperative relations between the People's Republic of China and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC).

During the visit, H.E. Premier Wen Jiabao of the People's Republic of China met with six finance ministers of the GCC member states and H.E. Secretary General of the GCC, and on behalf of the Chinese side and the GCC respectively, Chinese State Councillor H.E. Tang Jiaxuan and Finance Minister of the State of Kuwait H.E. Mahmoud Abdelkhaliq Al-Nouri chaired the official talks between the sides. Chinese Minister of Commerce H.E. Bo Xilai, Minister of Finance H.E. Jin Renqing and Director of the State Development and Reform Commission H.E. Ma Kai held talks respectively with their counterparts of the GCC's delegation. During their talks and meetings, the two sides exchanged views on exploring areas for cooperation between the People's Republic of China and the GCC member states as well as on promoting bilateral ties.

The two sides signed the Framework Agreement on Economic, Trade, Investment and Technological Cooperation between the People's Republic of China and the Member States of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC). The agreement aims to encourage cooperation and technological exchanges in the above-mentioned areas, expand bilateral trade exchanges, encourage exchanges between the business communities of the two sides and promote mutual investment through various measures. The agreement also stipulates the establishment of a joint committee for cooperation, whose responsibility is to implement this agreement and other agreements or protocols signed based on this.

In order to encourage and facilitate flow of commodities and services between the two sides, they agree to launch negotiations on China-GCC free trade area so as to develop and strengthen relations between China and the GCC member states and create a good foundation and environment for mutual investment between the two sides in various economic areas. The first round of such negotiations will be held in China as soon as possible.

During the visit by the GCC's delegation, Chinese Foreign Minister H.E. Li Zhaoxing and GCC Secretary General H.E. Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al-Attiyah held political consultation and exchanged views on many political and economic issues of common interest.

At the end of the visit, both sides expressed their satisfaction with its results and agreed to continue such exchanges in the future with the specific dates and places to be decided later. The head of the GCC's delegation, visiting ministers as well as H.E. Secretary General of the GCC appreciated the warm reception extended from the friendly Chinese government and people to their delegation.

Original source: http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjdt/2649/t142542.htm

Other Joint Communiqués:

China-Japan | China-Russian | China-Sri Lanka | China-India-Russia | China-Mozambique | China-South Africa | China-Zambia | China-Japan-Korea | China-Benin | China-Montenegro | China-Uganda | China-Republic of Congo | China-Ghana | China-Georgia | China-Greece | China-Pakistan | China-Malaysia | China-Kazakhstan | China-Samoa | China-Portugal | China-E.U. | China-Vietnam | China-Armenia | China-Brunei Darussalam | China-Albania | China-Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) | China-Fiji Islands | China-Papua New Guinea | China-Moldova | China-Iran | China-Oman | China-United Kingdom |