POLITICAL ISSUES
EGYPT
1) China and Egypt promotes Belt and Road Initiative.
Cairo, Thursday, 13 April 2017
A senior Chinese official in Cairo said that Egypt is an important partner in promoting the Belt and Road Initiative and that their presidents have reached a broad consensus on developing their comprehensive strategic partnership.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

IRAN
2) China pushes for all-round cooperation with Iran: vice premier
Tehran, Sunday, 23 April 2017
Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong on a visit to Tehran stated China’s willingness to strengthen all-round cooperation and he also said that boosting their bilateral relations would provide mutual support at crucial moments on major issues.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

3) China and Iran sign contract on redesign of Arak heavy water reactor
Vienna, Sunday, 23 April 2017
In Vienna China and Iran have signed the first commercial contract to redesign Iran's Arak heavy water reactor which is a core aspect of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran's nuclear programme.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

4) China and Iran cooperates to promote Belt and Road Initiative
Athens, Monday, 24 April 2017
China and Iran has agreed to enhance cooperation under the framework of Belt and Road Initiative. The consensus came after the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif ahead of the Ancient Civilization Forum in Athens.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

JORDAN
5) Chinese president and Jordanian King exchange congratulations on anniversary of relations
Beijing, Friday, 7 April 2017
Chinese President Xi Jinping and King Abdullah II of Jordan exchanged congratulatory messages on the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between two countries.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing; See also: Xinhua, Beijing

SYRIA
6) Chinese envoy says peace talks only way to solve Syrian crisis.
Cairo, Monday, 24 April 2017
China’s Special envoy to Syria Xie Xiaoyan said that the only way to solve the Syrian crisis is political settlement with peace negotiations and that it is important for China and Egypt to exchange views and information on the issue.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

UAE
7) China and UAE to enhance bilateral cooperation
Dubai, Tuesday 11 April 2017
China and the UAE pledged to strengthen bilateral cooperation and enhance strategic partnership. Sun Chunlan, head of the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, stated that the UAE is not only the first Gulf country to establish a strategic partnership with China, but also China's largest export market in the region.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

YEMEN
8) China closes Yemen embassy, evacuates dozens via naval vessels
Beijing, Friday, 7 April 2017
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced that China has temporarily closed its embassy in Yemen and its Consulate General in Aden.
Source: Global Times, Beijing

ECONOMIC ISSUES
UAE
9) China takes UAE as important partner to promote Belt and Road Initiative
UAE, Wednesday, 19 April 2017
The UAE is located at the intersection of the Belt and Road Initiatives and is an important partner for China and that the partnership would also help to boost the bilateral cooperation.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

MISCELLANEOUS
EGYPT
10) China condemns terrorist attacks on churches in Egypt
Beijing, Monday, 10 April 2017
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying stated that China strongly condemns the terrorist attacks on two churches in Egypt and sent messages of condolence.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

MOROCCO
11) Morocco’s leading TV channel airs Chinese series
Casablanca, Thursday, 20 April 2017
Morocco’s leading TV channel 2M has started airing a Chinese series “A Happy Life” dubbed into Arabic. Cooperation between the Chinese media and the Moroccan media would help to boost the bilateral relations.
Source: Xinhua, Beijing

COMPILED BY MINAKSHI SARDAR

Minakshi Sardar is a Doctoral candidate at 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