Chinese FM in Lebanon in bid to boost ties скачать в хорошем качестве

Chinese FM in Lebanon in bid to boost ties

(23 Jun 2017) Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his Lebanese counterpart Gibran Bassil in Beirut on Friday with the aim of strengthening cooperation in the Middle East. China has been strengthening commercial ties and boosting investments to revive the old Silk Road - a commercial route linking China to the west. President of China Xi Jinping launched the so-called "Belt and Road initiative" in 2013, which is a plan to recreate the vital economic corridor. The Chinese government further stressed the strategic vision in its Arab Policy Papers in January 2017. China imports more oil than anybody else from the Middle East. China represents the biggest trade partner for Lebanon. The tiny middle eastern country recently discovered oil and gas reserves off its Mediterranean coast. Lebanese Foreign Minister Bassil called on Chinese companies to invest in the country's future oil and gas industry. China's foreign minister also stressed the importance of finding a political solution to end Syria's six-year war, saying that once the country's security conditions began to improve refugees would start returning to their country. Some 1.5 million Syrian refugees who fled the conflict are believed to be living in Lebanon - about a third of the Mediterranean country's population of 4.5 million people. Bassil described the presence of refugees as an "existential threat" to Lebanon, calling for a swift return of Syrian refugees to their country. Wang said that China, a permanent member at the United Nations Security Council, would continue to work to solve the crisis in the region. The top Chinese diplomat also met Lebanese President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...