Gulf states pledge to work with China on food and energy security issues and ensure supply chains

Name: 2-metre ‘giant rice’ twice as tall as other varieties nearly ready for first harvest in China
Uploaded: 2022-09-21T12:00:15.000Z
Duration: 1 min 33 s
Description: 2-metre ‘giant rice’ twice as tall as other varieties nearly ready for first harvest in China

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met representatives of Gulf Cooperation Council, thanking them for support on Taiwan, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and rights issues

The Chinese foreign ministry said Wang and the officials also exchanged views on Iran’s nuclear programme and the civil war in Yemen during the meeting

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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets counterparts from Gulf Cooperation Council countries on the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday. Photo: Xinhua

Jack Lau

Published: 8:00pm, 21 Sep 2022

Gulf states are willing to work with China to maintain food and energy security and ensure stable supply chains, their senior diplomats told China’s foreign minister on Monday.

According to a Chinese foreign ministry statement on the meeting, minister Wang Yi hailed China’s ties with the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and praised the political and economic bloc for supporting Beijing’s positions on Taiwan, Xinjiang, Hong Kong and human rights – frequent targets of criticism by Western governments.

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2-metre ‘giant rice’ twice as tall as other varieties nearly ready for first harvest in China

Food and energy supplies have been disrupted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the tit-for-tat measures over war-related sanctions, further exacerbating shortages in supply chains weakened by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Energy cooperation and trade form the heart of Chinese foreign policy with the GCC, which counts resource-rich Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as members.

“The GCC anticipates a bright future for its ties with China and is willing to consolidate mutual trust, deepen pragmatic cooperation in all areas to ensure the security of food and energy and that the supply chain is stable, and face global challenges together,” the GCC was quoted by the Chinese foreign ministry as saying.

Wang told the meeting in New York, where he attended a UN General Assembly session: “China has long been the GCC’s biggest trading partner, and trade volume last year between China and the GCC grew by 44 per cent against the trend.

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