Wang Yi Holds Talks with Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani

On January 11, 2022, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province.

Zayani first conveyed the cordial greetings from King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa to Chinese leaders and wished China prosperity. Zayani said, Bahrain and China enjoy time-honored relations and solid friendship. Bahrain attaches great importance to strengthening and deepening relations with China and stands ready to comprehensively expand bilateral cooperation in various fields.

Wang Yi conveyed President Xi Jinping's best wishes to King Hamad, saying that under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-Bahrain relations have developed steadily and soundly and pragmatic cooperation has achieved positive results. The two sides have always understood and supported each other and treated each other as equals, setting a good example of peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation among countries of different sizes and social systems. China appreciates Bahrain's firm adherence to its friendly policy towards China and thanks Bahrain for its firm support on issues concerning China's core interests and major concerns. In the face of the retrogressive trend of unilateralism and protectionism, China firmly opposes the practice of the big oppressing the small, the strong bullying the weak and the law of the jungle. China firmly advocates and practices the concept of multilateralism and firmly upholds the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. China will always stand with developing countries and small and medium-sized countries to jointly safeguard international fairness and justice. China is willing to be Bahrain's long-term and reliable strategic partner, further deepen bilateral mutual trust and friendship, and keep adding new dimensions to bilateral relations.

Wang Yi said, China will continue to provide vaccines for Bahrain in accordance with its needs, jointly uphold the right direction of international anti-pandemic cooperation, and hold the ground that global origin-tracing research must be conducted in a science-based and fair manner. China supports Bahrain in advancing its "Economic Vision 2030", and is ready to strengthen bilateral cooperation in areas such as 5G telecommunications, e-commerce, digital economy and big data, actively participate in Bahrain's major development projects, steadily advance infrastructure, photovoltaic and other projects, and explore cooperation in areas such as new energy and aerospace. China encourages more competent Chinese enterprises to invest and do business in Bahrain, and hopes that Bahrain will continue to provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises.

Zayani said, Bahrain highly recognizes the basic norms governing international relations such as non-interference in internal affairs, mutual respect, good-neighborliness and peaceful settlement of disputes, opposes politicizing human rights issues, and supports China's efforts to maintain unity and stability. The Chinese government has a high approval rating of over 90 percent of the people, which fully testifies to the success of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the positive results of China's efforts to improve people's livelihood, develop democracy and protect human rights. Bahrain and China have successfully carried out the phase III clinical trial of a COVID-19 vaccine. The Bahraini side thanks China for boosting Bahrain's efforts to realize two-dose vaccinations, and stands ready to continue to strengthen cooperation with China to jointly address challenges.

The two sides agreed to further enrich people-to-people and cultural exchanges, support Chinese language teaching in Bahrain, and facilitate personnel exchanges. Zayani said Bahrain supports China in hosting the Beijing Olympic Winter Games and opposes politicizing sports.

The two sides exchanged views on cooperation between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Wang Yi said, China appreciates Bahrain's positive role in the development of China-GCC relations and is ready to work with Bahrain to upgrade China-GCC cooperation.

Both sides also exchanged views on the Iranian nuclear issue and the situation in the Middle East. Zayani spoke highly of China's commitment to promoting regional peace and stability and highly appreciated the China-proposed five-point initiative on achieving security and stability in the Middle East, saying that it demonstrates China's key and positive role and its sense of responsibility as a major country.