The 50th anniversary of China's diplomatic relations with many Arab states this year has seen heads of state and government leaders shuttling between China and the Middle East.

Chinese President Hu Jintao flew to Saudi Arabia and Morocco in April, Premier Wen Jiabao visited Egypt in June and Beijing hosted a China-Arab and a China-Africa forum.

The main focus of the cooperation between China and the Arab states has once again been oil. The Arab countries have been China's largest crude oil supplier with imports expected to be much higher than the 55.36 million tons of crude oil imported from Arab countries in 2005, which accounted for 43.7 percent of its total oil imports.

At the China-Arab Cooperation Forum, held from May 31 to June 1 in Beijing, China and the League of Arab States vowed to establish a dialogue mechanism to further promote cooperation in the field of energy.

It is not just China's thirst for oil that is driving diplomatic relations. At the China-Arab forum, an agreement was signed on environmental protection along with a memorandum of understanding between Chinese and Arab entrepreneurs.

League of Arab States Secretary-general Amr Mahmoud Moussa said much had been achieved since the forum was formed in 2004.

The Sino-Arab cooperation is a good example of the type of cooperation we have been advocating for so many years, said Moussa.

Of the 22 member states of the Cairo-based Arab League, 10 are located in North Africa. The Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was held from Nov. 3 to 5.

During the meetings, China and Algeria reached several agreements covering economy, taxation, civil aviation, judicial services, quality inspection and quarantine. China also agreed to help Algeria construct a 1,216-kilometer highway which will cross the country from west to east.

Besides economic and political cooperation, China and Arab countries have turned their attention to cultural exchanges.

China and nations of the League of Arab States on June 24 jointly launched a three-week Arabic arts festival in Beijing to promote Arabic music, art and cuisine. The art festival was also staged in east China's Nanjing.

Senior officials from Arab states also called for more Chinese programs to be shown on Arab television, complaining about Western programs' "obsession with violence".

The Qatar-based Al-Jazeera TV station and China's Central Television (CCTV) signed a cooperative contract regarding programming and staff training in 2005. This year, Al-Jazeera broadcasted the Chinese three-episode documentary "Zheng He's Voyages down the Western Sea" and in May, Yemen TV station aired a series of China-made programs about China's economic development.

The Chinese government has provided scholarships for students from more than ten Middle East countries, including Egypt, Sudan and Tunisia. From 2006 to 2008, China will train 500 Arab professionals in various fields every year, such as agriculture, biochemistry, computer, medicine, international politics and economics.

A group of 15 officials from 10 Arab countries, including Jordan, Palestine, Yemen, Syria, Egypt and Lebanon, have already received training in water resources management from June 2 to 16.

Source: Xinhua