POLITICAL ISSUES
EGYPT
1) China and Egypt strengthens diplomatic ties
Beijing, Monday, 30 May 2016
Exchange of greetings between Chinese premier Li Keqiang and his Egyptian counterpart Sherif Ismail took place on the eve of the 60th anniversary of China-Egypt diplomatic relation. Both the countries expressed their willingness to strengthen their ties through co-operation.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing; See also: Xinhua, Beijing

QATAR
2) Qatar to play China’s key partner in promoting “Belt and Road” Initiative
Doha, Wednesday, 11 May 2016
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China welcomed Qatar as a key partner to promote “Belt and Road” Initiative and bonding with Qatar’s National Vision 2030 would boost the bi-lateral relations.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

SYRIA
3) China proposes to sustain confidence, patience and sincerity to maintain ceasefire in Syria
Beijing, Tuesday, 3 May 2016
China called on all the parties in Syria to maintain the ceasefire in order to create a positive environment for the conflict resolution.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

4) Chinese Envoy says that Military means cannot bring any solution to the Syrian Crisis
United Nations, Wednesday, 4 May 2016
China’s permanent representative to the UNSC said military means cannot bring any fruitful solution to the Syrian crisis instead it would cause greater disaster.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

5) Chinese Foreign Minister suggests political solution as the only way to solve the Syrian crisis.
Doha, Thursday, 12 May 2016
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during the 7th Ministerial Meeting of China-Arab Co-operation Forum, said that the only way to stamp out the Syrian crisis is through political solution and emphasized that it is important to implement a political solution to the crisis.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

6) China encourages joint effort to achieve real ceasefire in Syria
Vienna, Sunday, 15 May 2016
Chinese envoy to the UN said that the International Syria Support Group meeting in Vienna would bring most of the world and regional powers together to discuss about the crisis in Syria and hoped that it would help to find out ways to bring ceasefire and provide humanitarian aid.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

YEMEN
7) Foreign Ministers of China and Yemen discusses about their bi lateral ties
Doha, Wednesday, 11 May 2016
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi along with the Yemeni Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister discussed the on-going round of peace talks on Yemen. The discussion emphasized the importance on enhancing the bilateral ties between the two.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

ECONOMIC ISSUES
EGYPT
8) Chinese construction Companies, partly sponsors construction of Egypt’s new capital
Cairo, Friday, 6 May 2016
Chinese-state owned companies would partly sponsor Egypt’s plan to build a new administrative and business capital and would provide financial assistance to the Egyptian contractors for the construction.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

IRAN
9) Iran-China strengthens partnership in oil, gas projects.
Tehran, Sunday, 15 May 2016
Tehran has entered into various partnerships with major Chinese firms for developing its oil and gas fields to boost the economic co-operation between the two countries.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

UAE
10) China signs agreement with UAE
Dubai, Thursday, 5 May 2016
China has signed an agreement on the issue of inspection, logistics and certification of Chinese foods and beverages in the UAE and the Gulf region.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

11) China emerges as UAE’s top trading partner
Dubai, Friday, 13 May 2016
Sultan Ahmad bin Sulayem, Chairperson and CEO of Dubai ports said that the UAE has been one of China’s biggest export markets in the region for several years.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

12) United Arab Emirates is keen to strengthen bi-lateral ties with China
Abu Dhabi, Wednesday, 25 May 2016
UAE Minister of Economy Sultan Al-Mansouri expressed his willingness to have greater co-operation with China on the basis of ‘One Belt-One Road’ Initiative.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

13) Abu Dhabi Port organizes business event
Dubai, Sunday, 29 May 2016
Khalifa Port and Khalifa Industrial zone were presented to the Chinese Business people at an event organized by Abu Dhabi ports in co-operation with Chinese Embassy in UAE and Chinese Business Council.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

MULTILATERAL ISSUES
ARAB LEAGUE
14) Arab Leaders expects more developments from strategic co-operation with China
Doha, Wednesday, 11 May 2016
Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby said that the strategic co-operation with China ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative is expected to bring out more progress in the partnership.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

15) Palestinian Experts expects more support for Palestinian Cause
Gaza, Thursday, 12 May2016
Palestinian experts said that the 7th Ministerial Meeting of the China-Arab States Co-operation Forum is a platform to mobilize the support for the Palestinian cause. The forum brings together representatives from 22 Arab states. The Palestinian experts see this forum as an opportunity to end the Israeli occupation and increase co-operation between China and the Arab States.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

16) Importance of ports and railways in Arab-China Relation
Doha, Thursday, 12 May 2016
At the 7th Ministerial conference of the China-Arab States Co-operation Forum, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that railways and ports are the key symbols of the China-Arab relation.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

17) Middle East peace forum launched in Cairo
Cairo, Sunday, 15 May 2016
China launched Middle East Foundation for Peace and Development (MEFPD), to promote peace making efforts in the Middle East. The forum encourages collective peace-making efforts and initiatives.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

18) China –Arab Mutual Co-operation
Cairo, Monday, 30May 2016
The three-day comprehensive exhibition of China-Arab States Expo 2016 would facilitate the joint commune between China and Arab states to discuss on the potential ground for co-operation.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES
EGYPT
19) Cairo University holds this year’s final of “Chinese Bridge”
Cairo, Thursday, 12 May 2016
A language competition called the “Chinese Bridge” was held by Cairo University that saw a gathering of more than 1,000 people.  It is not just a platform to show case language proficiency but also a festival to get together and mingle with the growing Chinese language learners in Egypt.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

20) China announces the winner of the logo designing competition
Cairo, Monday, 30 May 2016
Chinese embassy in Cairo announced Marwan Ibrahim as the winner of the logo designing contest. The unique logo designing contest was a part of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Egypt. The logo was designed combining Egyptian Pyramids and the Great Wall of China highlighting harmony between the two states.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

LEBANON
21) China encourages Lebanon’s participation in Belt and Road Initiative
Doha, Thursday, 12 May 2016
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Lebanese counterpart Joubran Bassil in Doha during the 7th Ministerial Meeting of the China-Arab Co-operation Forum.  Wang Yi said that China and Lebanon should continue to support each other on issues concerning core interests.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

UAE
22) UAE Emirates airline launches its first direct flight
Dubai, Tuesday, 3 May 2016
Emirates launched its first direct flight from the UAE to Yinchuan in China. The total time taken by the direct flight was less than seven hours.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

COMPILED BY MINAKSHI SARDAR

Minakshi Sardar is a doctoral candidate in the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.  Email

As part of its editorial policy, the MEI@ND standardizes spelling and date formats, to make the text uniformly accessible and stylistically consistent. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views/positions of the MEI@ND. Editor, MEI@ND: P R Kumaraswamy