Chinese ambassador: Beijing supports royal reform project in Bahrain

Chinese Ambassador to Bahrain Li Chen stressed his country’s absolute support to the reform project spearheaded by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, lauding the efforts of HM the King and the Bahraini government in boosting security and stability, promoting the national economy and improving the living standard of the Bahraini people. In an interview with Bahrain News Agency (BNA), ahead of HM the King’s visit to China from September 14 to 16, he said Beijing clearly supports all efforts aimed at bolstering stability in Bahrain. He pointed out that the Chinese government regards those issues as Bahraini and that Beijing acts according to the principle of no intervention in the internal affairs of other countries. He described HM the King’s visit to China, at an invitation by the Chinese President as the first of its kind since diplomatic representation was established between both countries around twenty-five years ago. He added that HM the King will hold talks with the Chinese President and senior officials on bilateral relation as well as regional and international issues of common concern. He described the visit as “historic”, stressing that it would add impetus to enhancing relations between both countries. He noted that both countries have a common wish to broaden the scope of military and security cooperation as well as cooperation in the human rights labour, cultural and tourism fields. The Chinese ambassador spoke about fast-paced development of economic cooperation recently, citing figures in this respect. He explained that the volume of trade exchange between China and the GCC countries reached last year USD 155 billion, out of which Bahrain had around USD 1.5 billion. He pointed out that though that figure might seem small, trade exchange between Bahrain and China went up last year by 28%. He added China basically imports from Bahrain petrochemical and aluminium products while it exports to the latter a wide range of Chinese products. He underscored both countries’ wish to enlarge the sphere of that cooperation. He also asserted the potential role that could be played by Bahrain as a bridge to further foster relations between China and the GCC countries. He pointed out a strategic dialogue that was set up years ago between China and the GCC countries, adding that a new dialogue is expected to take place by end of this year, which will be headed by Bahraini Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and his Chinese counterpart. The prospective dialogue, he revealed, will tackle political and economic issues as well as international one of mutual concern.