Forum in Zhuhai taps youthful vigor to build China-Arab Community of Shared Future

The third China-Arab States Young Political Leaders Forum held in south China's Zhuhai City from Wednesday to Thursday has fruitfully tapped youthful zeal and wisdom through exhaustive exchanges on contributing youthful vigor to building China-Arab community of shared future in the new era.

The opening ceremony was attended by prominent government officials from the both sides together with 200 representatives from political parties, governments, think tanks, media, universities and enterprises from 21 Arab countries and China.

Liu Jianchao, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said in his keynote speech at the opening ceremony that in May this year, the 10th ministerial conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum was successfully held in Beijing, where Chinese President Xi Jinping and Arab leaders have proposed that China and Arab countries should jointly build a "five major cooperation prospects".

The purpose of holding the forum is to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of China and Arab countries and contribute youthful strength to building a China-Arab Community with a Shared Future in the new era, according to Liu.

"Opening-up is a distinctive mark of Chinese modernization. Both China and Arab countries have actively embraced globalization through opening-up. As General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, economic globalization is a mighty historical trend, and its general trend of development has never changed although it has encountered headwinds and setbacks. Not long ago, the seventh China International Import Expo just closed. This is the world's only national-level exposition dedicated to imports, and it is also a major oath and practical action for China to actively open up its market," he said. Ahmed Saad El-Din, first deputy speaker of the Egyptian House of Representatives, said the Arab countries and China share similar values ​​and should jointly oppose hegemonism, work together to address global challenges such as climate change, and promote the building of a more just and reasonable new international order. Mohammad Shtayyeh, former Prime Minister of Palestine, said that the current world situation is turbulent and wars are still burning in some local areas, and China has made great contributions for upholding justice for the Palestinian people and maintaining world peace.

"Today, China is steadily playing its role on the international stage through four initiatives of the Global Security Initiative, the Belt and Road Initiative, the 'Friends of Peace' initiative for Ukraine, and the initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping on resolving the Palestine-Israel conflict. In addition, the theme of today's forum is youth, which is an important step to explore the role of youth in strengthening China-Arab relations," said Shtayyeh.

Foreign guests also said China has made tremendous achievements in socioeconomic development, and as youths are the key promoters of national reform and development, youths from both sides should strengthen exchanges, learn from each other, and jointly open up a broader prospect for China-Arab relations.

"Young people can improve the level of our cooperation and represent the future. Therefore, we should continue to enhance cooperation in various fields by strengthening youth exchanges. In this forum, we discussed cooperation, including cooperation in the fields of economy, humanities, etc. Cooperation is very important for our two ancient civilizations," said Mohamed Alhawaj, member of the Bahraini-Chinese Friendship Society.

Forum in Zhuhai taps youthful vigor to build China-Arab Community of Shared Future

Forum in Zhuhai taps youthful vigor to build China-Arab Community of Shared Future

Heavy winter rains and rising tides have worsened the plight of displaced Palestinians in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, with families on the beach west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza losing their homes to the floodwaters and struggling to find shelter and basic necessities.

Umm Ahmed, a displaced resident, recounted how rising waves nearly drowned her children and destroyed their tent and belongings, leaving her family without shelter.

"Our children (girls) were covered by water. Our tent is destroyed. Everything is gone. We are here by the sea, the tent fell on us. The waves rose and the water rushed in. Our neighbors took our children to their tents in higher places. Since the morning, my son and I have been taking all our belongings out of the tent. There are no clothes left for the children, no bedding, no clothes. There is no place for us. We had moved to the beach. Where do we go now? May God punish Israelis for what they did to us. They tortured us, we can't sleep. We can't even settle. We have no food nor drink. The prices are very high. Our children go to sleep hungry. [We can only say:] Thank God for everything," she said.

Jamil Dhahir, another displaced resident, lamented the dire conditions where his family, separated when fleeing the waves, is now struggling with illness, lack of sleep and uncertainty about where to go next.

"They told us to move to this 'safe area', and as you can see, we were all harmed. Where do we go? We were in the camp east of Khan Younis before and later moved here. Where shall we go next? Our children and women are all sick. We haven't slept since yesterday. We fled the waves at night and the children went with their mothers to another camp to the east of here, while I stayed here," he said.

In a social media post on Monday, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said the recent rains have already caused immense hardship for Gazans, with a half million people at risk of flooding.

"The situation will only get worse with every drop of rain, every bomb, every strike," the agency said.

According to a statement released Wednesday by Gaza-based health authorities, the Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza had risen to 44,282, with 104,880 injured.

Winter rains compound suffering for displaced Palestinians in war-torn Gaza