China to develop better understanding with Islamic countries

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that Pakistan is appreciative of the fact that China is desirous of collaborating with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and developing a better understanding with the Islamic countries.

He said this during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi who arrived earlier in Islamabad to attend the 48th Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM). It is the first time that a Chinese Foreign Minister is going to participate in OIC CFM.

The Chinese foreign minister, after his bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, told journalists that the CFM’s theme of “Building Partnerships for Unity, Justice, and Development” had great significance in the current scenario — and was also the main purpose of Chinese participation.

The communication and friendship between China and the Islamic world have lasted for years. The ties between China and the Islamic world have become stronger over centuries and have reached a historic point.

In modern times, both China and many Islamic countries suffered colonial oppression, sovereignty humiliation, economic difficulties and development hardships.

However, since the PRC was established in 1949, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people have explored with great courage a novel path of development with Chinese characteristics.

In this process, China and some other developing countries, including those in the Islamic world, have always supported each other to safeguard common interests and achieve common development.

Tolerance and friendliness are the cultural deposits shared by both China and the Islamic world.

Today, the Niujie Mosque in Beijing attracts a large number of tourists from all over the world. The 10th-century mosque’s architectural style is a typical example, combining local Chinese culture and Islamic characteristics.

More than 50 universities in China offer courses on Arabic language and literature and some even have specialized research institutes on Islamic culture.

More and more young Chinese people are eager to join in the building of the China-Islamic world friendship.

In the face of the pandemic, China and the Islamic world have united as one and helped each other contain the virus. OIC issued a statement backing up China’s efforts to combat the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

China has provided anti-pandemic supplies to many Islamic countries, including all African OIC members. To tackle the shortfall in vaccine production capacity and distribution, and enhance the accessibility and affordability of vaccines in the Islamic world, China worked with many countries on vaccine research, development and production.

Earlier on 27th January 2022, the General Secretariat of OIC held a new round of political consultations with the People’s Republic of China.

In the meeting, the relations between the Islamic world and China were discussed, in addition to reviewing and evaluating the existing cooperation between OIC and China, and prospects for strengthening this cooperation in several fields, especially the economic and financial field, along with higher education and cultural exchange.