BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called for more cooperation between China and Arab countries to promote "Belt and Road" initiative.

According to the Chinese News Agency (Xinhua), this came in a congratulatory letter to the fifth China-Arab States Expo that opened Thursday in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, saying China is willing to jointly promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation with Arab states.

"The traditional friendship between the peoples of China and Arab states has become stronger over time," President Xi said in the letter.

He noted that China and Arab states have in recent years continued to strengthen strategic coordination and synergy of actions, and the joint construction of the Belt and Road has achieved fruitful results.

"China is ready to work with Arab states to seek cooperation and development, promote peaceful development, achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, jointly build the Belt and Road with high quality, elevate China-Arab strategic partnership to a higher level, and jointly build a China-Arab community with a shared future for the new era," he added.

The expo opened on Thursday in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia.

Last month, in mid-July, the Arab League and China called for an international peace conference "with greater credibility and wider representation" to achieve peace in the Middle East based on the "two-state solution".

The statement added that the two sides stressed, in a joint statement, the importance of a comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue, leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The two sides stressed the importance of preserving the territorial integrity of the Arab countries, especially in Syria, Libya and Yemen, and enhancing its security and the chances of political solutions.

Moreover, both sides expressed their rejection of politicizing human rights issues, calling to work to strengthen solidarity and cooperation, adhere to multilateralism, reject unilateralism, and defend international justice.

Both sides praised the development of the Arab-Chinese strategic partnership relations, and the level of cooperation to serve the common interests of the Arab and Chinese nations.

The two sides also praised the "Belt and Road" initiative by the Chinese president and its promising opportunities for cooperation and mutual benefit.

The two sides reiterated the importance of preparing for the holding of the first Arab-Chinese summit to be hosted by Saudi Arabia in 2022, and expressed aspiration that this summit would be "a qualitative leap" to advance Arab-Chinese relations and partnership. — Agencies