BEIJING — State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks respectively with the Arab League (AL) Secretary General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Beijing on July 8.

Aboul-Gheit and Shoukry have come to attend the eighth ministerial meeting of China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF) scheduled for July 10.

When meeting with Aboul-Gheit, Wang called on China and the Arab states to deepen strategic cooperation, continue to support each other on issues concerning respective core interests, and play their due roles in promoting peace and stability in the region and the world.

The two sides should facilitate synergy of development strategies, Wang said, stressing that China and the Arab states can become stable cooperation partners through jointly constructing the Belt and Road.

China hopes its rapid development will provide opportunities to the Arab states in their bid to achieve economic diversification and industrialization development, Wang said.

Aboul-Gheit said the Arab states are willing to boost cooperation with China under the Belt and Road Initiative, adding he hoped the upcoming eighth ministerial meeting of CASCF will achieve positive outcomes.

During the strategic dialogue between China and Egypt’s foreign ministries, Wang called on the two sides to maintain the momentum of high level exchanges, and give full play to the two heads of state’s role in guiding the development of bilateral ties.

Saying China hopes to speed up alignment of development strategies with Egypt, Wang stressed China welcomes Egypt to participate in the construction of the Belt and Road, and deepen cooperation in various fields including production capacity, trade, security and people-to-people exchanges.

The two sides should push forward coordination in regional and international affairs and safeguard the common interests of developing countries, Wang said.

Hailing China’s long-term efforts in promoting peace and stability in the Middle East and the development of Africa, Shoukry expressed his country’s willingness to further cooperate with China within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, CASCF and Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.