Ｃｈｉｎｅｓｅ Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐ Ｄｅｌｅｇａｔｉｏｎ Ｖｉｓｉｔｓ Ｅｇｙｐｔ， Ｓａｕｄｉ Ａｒａｂｉａ ａｎｄ Ｂａｈｒａｉｎ

A Chinese friendship delegation headed by Tomur Dawamat， president of the China-Arab Friendship Association (CAFA) and former vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress， visited Egypt， Saudi Arabia and Bahrain from September 18 to October 2， 2004 at the invitation of the Egyptian-Chinese Friendship Association， the Saudi Arabia-China Friendship Association and the Bahrain Businessmen’s Association. It was the first time that the CAFA president led a delegation to Arab countries since its founding in 2001.

In Egypt

At their meetings with the delegation， Ahmed Nazef， Egyptian prime minister， Ahmed Fathi Sorour， speaker of the People’s Assembly， and Youssef Amin Wali， vice chairman of the National Democratic Party and former deputy prime minister， all expressed that the Egyptian Government attaches great importance to developing friendly and cooperative relations with China and that the frequent exchanges of visits between the state leaders of the two countries have laid a solid foundation for consolidating such relations. Prime Minister Nazef said， the Egyptian Government pays great attention to learning the successful experience of China in its reform and opening up. He himself follows with great interest China’s experience in developing economy， raising scientific and technological level and running special economic zones. The development of China’s information industry in particular has joined the first rank of the world. The achievements China has made in the above areas can be called miracles of the world.

Speaker Sorour said during his meeting with the delegation， Egypt and China are two ancient civilizations. The friendly relations between them go back to ancient times. There aren’t any problems between them. He said that he would soon visit China. He stressed that it would be a good opportunity to learn from China’s experience， especially the experience of how China overcomes difficulties in its economic development. He said， China has properly handled the relationship between developing market economy and planned economy， well explained the relationship between developing market economy and maintaining social stability， appropriately resolved the relationship between the rich and the poor. It has protected the state-owned enterprises while encouraging the development of private business and maintained its socialist characteristics while developing market economy. That’s why the experience of China is indeed worth studying and learning.

ECFA President Wali said at his meeting with the delegation， Egypt and China have been reliable friends for years. The two countries have always coordinated and cooperated on international affairs. During the exchange of visits between President Hosni Mubarak and President Hu Jintao， Egypt and China has constructed a strategic and cooperative partnership， laying the foundation for further deepening bilateral relations. Egypt always upholds its principled stand for one China and that Taiwan is an alienable part of China， and will not develop official ties with Taiwan at any time and under any circumstances.

The delegation also visited the provinces of Faiyum， Suez and Alexandria and some enterprises.

In Saudi Arabia

In Saudi Arabia， Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz， emir of Riyad area， met with the delegation. He said， there is great potential for cooperation in various fields between the two countries. He would like to see the development of tourism while bilateral political， economic and trade relations enjoy continual growth.

Abdul-Rahman Ali Al-Jeraisy， president of the SACFA and chairman of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry， had a talk with the delegation. Both sides recalled happily the marked progress made in the relations between the two countries， especially the economic and trade relations since 1997 when the two friendship associations were founded. In 1997 the trade volume between the two countries was just over a billion US dollars. The two sides reached a consensus then: to strive to increase the trade volume to 10 billion US dollars in 10 years. Now they are approaching this goal. Al-Jeraisy said， China is a big country in the world and developing friendly and cooperative relations with China is a strategic choice of Saudi Arabia.

In Bahrain

Khalifa Bin Salman Al-Khalifa， prime minister of Bahrain， Khalifa Bin Ahmed Al-Dhahrani， president of the Chamber of Deputies， and the ministers of commerce and industry met with the delegation on different occasions. Prime Minister Khalifa held that the exchange of visits is an important way to strengthen bilateral relations and hoped to see frequent exchanges of visits between the two countries. He happily recalled his visit to China in 2002 and said， the fast development and the great progress China has made should be attributed to its good policies. China is a good friend of the Arab countries， especially the gulf countries. A powerful China will contribute to world peace and development. He wished China greater prosperity and progress. At their meetings with the delegation， President Khalifa Bin Ahmed， Minister of Commerce Ali Bin Saleh Al-Saleh and Minister of Industry Hassan Bin Abdullah Fakhroo all expressed that Bahrain attaches great importance to developing relations with China in all fields and that there is great potential for cooperation between the two countries， especially in the fields of aluminium， petroleum， technology and traditional industries.