Xi announces millions in aid, billions in loans for MiddleEast
January 22, 2016, 5:56 am

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 21, 2016 [Xinhua]

The aid to Palestine will support a solar power station project in its territories.

Xi also reiterated the BRICS position on Palestinian statehood.

“China firmly supports the Middle East peace process and supports the establishment of a State of Palestine enjoying full sovereignty on the basis of the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital,” Xi told the Arab League’s delegates at their headquarters in Cairo.

Along with the rest of the West Bank, Israeli forces occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 war.

Xi also stressed that the Palestinian issue should not “fall into oblivion” as it is of fundamental importance to peace in the Middle East.

“Maintaining the legitimate interests of the Palestinian people is the responsibility of the Arab League as well as the international community,” Xi said.

The Chinese leader stressed that the international community should promote the resumption of the talks that collapsed in April 2014.

The visiting Chinese President on Thursday said it is crucial to promote development in the Arab world.

To aid industrialization in the Middle East, Beijing is going to hand out a number of loan programs, including a $15 billion exclusive loan, $10 billion in commercial loans and $10 billion in preferential loans to facilitate production capacity cooperation between China and the Middle Eastern states.

Xi described the Middle East region, not in the usual terms of “wars and tumult”, but as a “land of abundance.”

Xi also sought to drum up Arab support for the ambitious Silk Road and Belt project of China.

China, the leader announced, will work with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar to set up a $20 billion common investment fund that focuses on traditional sources of energy in the Middle East, infrastructure, and high-end manufacturing.

Xi also offered in his speech $300 million for law enforcement cooperation, police training so as to help build up the abilities of the regional countries to maintain stability.

On the Syrian crisis, Xi said what is most urgent, is to bring about cease-fire and start political talks.

Rejecting recent reports and analyses of China’s countering the West’s influence in the region, Xi said Beijing will neither look for proxies nor try to fill any “vacuum” in the Middle East.

“Beijing has no intention of building any sphere of influence in the region,” Xi said.

“Instead of looking for a proxy in the Middle East, we promote peace talks; instead of seeking any sphere of influence, we call on all parties to join the circle of friends for the Belt and Road Initiative; instead of attempting to fill the ‘vacuum’, we build a cooperative partnership network for win-win outcomes,” he added.

China’s Middle East policy will only be determined by the rights and wrongs of relevant issues as well as the fundamental interests of the Middle Eastern people, Xi stressed.

TBP and Agencies