China–Arab States Cooperation Forum

CASCF was established in 2004 during a visit by CCP General Secretary Hu Jintao to the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. At the end of the meeting, Foreign Minister of China Li Zhaoxing and Secretary General Moussa jointly announced the establishment of the "China-Arab Cooperation Forum" and issued the "Communiqué on the Establishment of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum". CASCF was the first cooperation forum between the Arab League and any other country or region. CASCF membership consists of China and the Arab League, which officially represents its twenty-two member states as a relatively unified body. CASCF therefore serves as the primary multilateral coordination mechanism between China and the Arab States. This coordination by the Arab League allows Arab states to negotiate actively for collective projects involving multiple states, such as railway projects, nuclear power projects, and Dead Sea initiatives. From 2011 to 2023, during the suspension of their Arab League memberships in 2011, Libya and Syria participated individually in CASCF. Since 2018, China frames CASCF as falling within its Belt and Road Initiative. == Political norms and activities ==

The core political norms that China advocates within CASCF are its Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence: mutual respect for territory and sovereignty, mutual nonaggression, mutual noninterference in internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful co-existence. These principles are a conservative interpretation of the Westphalian norms of state sovereignty. China pledged a further US$69 million in emergency humanitarian relief for Palestine and US$3 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. ==Special loans==

China-Arab states special loans are two special credit lines established by China in announcements in 2016 and 2018 in the amount of US$15 billion and $20 billion respectively. Both announcements were made in speeches given by CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping that called for jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative, China's global economic connectivity plan. 2016 special loan The $15 billion special loan for infrastructure and manufacturing was announced in January 2016 during a visit by Xi Jinping at the Arab League. The loan program in 2016 was announced as part of a larger financial package that had a heavy emphasis on business and investment. In addition to the $15 billion special credit line, US$10 billion of commercial loans and US$10 billion of concessional loans (foreign aid loans) were announced. The launch in December 2015 of the $10 billion UAE-China Joint Investment Fund was also noted. The 2018 announcement took on a different tone from the one in 2016 with pledges of help for reconstruction of war torn countries. The $20 billion special credit line was paired with a 600 million yuan humanitarian and reconstruction aid for Syria, Yemen, Jordan and Lebanon and a further 1 billion yuan was offered to support "social stability efforts". Also announced in 2018 was a China-Arab Countries Interbank Association with $3 billion in funding from China Development Bank for interbank credits with local banks in the region. ==Timeline of summits==

Foreign ministers of CASCF member states meet every two years, either in China or in an Arab state. The 2014 Declaration and ten-year plan discuss the "Silk Road Economic Belt" and "21st Century Maritime Silk Road," references that pre-date the official beginning of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). CASCF countries signed a declaration which expressed appreciation for China's efforts to resolve its maritime and territorial disputes through dialogue and negotiation. • 2024: 10th meeting in Beijing. Chinese leader Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of the conference and deliver a keynote speech. ==References==