Chinese special envoy to the Middle East Wu Sike on Saturday held talks with several Palestinian officials in a bid to push forward the stalled peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The new Chinese leadership “backs the exerted efforts to push forward the peace process and to resume the stalled negotiations between the two sides based on a two-state solution,” Wu told a news briefing in the West Bank [...]

Dangerous job earns gratitude from the people of Lebanon One week after returning from Lebanon to his base in Yunnan province, Chen Dairong was still struggling with jet lag from the six-hour time difference. However, the colonel in the Chengdu Military Area Command showed no less enthusiasm when it came to teaching soldiers to clear landmines. For the past nine months, Chen has led an engineering battalion sent by China [...]

Deal will further boost trade ties, says UAE envoy A free trade agreement between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council may be concluded this year, the United Arab Emirate’s ambassador to China told China Daily. “We are near to achieving the FTA between the GCC and China, with a few items including tariff issues to be resolved soon thanks to strong bilateral will,” Omar Ahmad Adi Al Bitar said. The [...]

China Tuesday released its white paper The Diversified Employment of China’s Armed Forces, revealing the 18 combined corps of the People’s Liberation Army and the number of PLA mobile operational units, navy and air force servicemen. A large part of this year’s white paper was devoted to maritime issues. “China is a major maritime as well as land country. The seas and oceans provide immense space and abundant resources for [...]

To fully understand China’s attitude toward Japan today, we have to be aware of the country’s modern history. Memories of the “century of humiliation” still determine much of China’s attitude in international affairs, whether it be toward Japan, the US, Russia, or Europe. And contrary to some Western commentators’ perceptions that the Chinese government’s attitude does not have popular support, most of the public back the hawkish stance. For that [...]

Chinese-made missiles have downed at least two Syrian army helicopters during the country’s ongoing conflict, defense observers told the Global Times Wednesday, noting such publicity will raise the image of Chinese defense products on the international arms trade market. Two videos uploaded online by Free Syrian Army rebel forces show two Mi-8/17 helicopters downed by shoulder-launched, air-defense missiles, or Man-Portable Air-Defense (MANPAD) systems. The first video was shot in the [...]

Palestine will raise the tax on products imported from China starting from April 15, the Palestinian authorities told the Global Times Wednesday. “With the aim of protecting local products as well as to institute principles of fair competition and in order to collect real revenues, the Cabinet has decided to introduce an additional tax of 35 percent on products imported from China,” said a statement sent by the Palestine Cabinet [...]

The relations between China and the Arab world have made further progress amidst political changes of some countries in West Asia and North Africa, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said Saturday. There have been changes in political situations in this region, but what has remained unchanged is the deep traditional friendship between the Chinese people and the people in this region, he told a press conference on the sidelines of [...]

Energy is not the only thing drawing the attention of Chinese companies to the Middle East. As countries in the region further upgrade their infrastructure, Chinese firms are finding more opportunities in the sector. Over the next 15 years, oil-rich Middle Eastern countries are expected to allocate $4.3 trillion to upgrade their infrastructure, as they try to boost their economies and improve people’s livelihoods, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said [...]

China’s biggest lender Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) said here Saturday that its Middle Eastearn branch achieved in 2012 a pre-tax profit of 54 million US dollars, up 69 percent year on year, while its total assets increased 29 percent to 4 billion US dollars. ICBC, the world’s biggest bank in terms of market capital, added that the Chinese RMB’s trade volume reached 2.25 billion US dollars, while [...]