Latest news with #China-GCC
Al Etihad
10-06-2025
- Business
- Al Etihad
Visa-free access extended to 4 more Gulf countries by China
10 June 2025 15:26 BEIJING (Xinhua)China this week launched a trial policy that grants unilateral visa-free entry to citizens of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain, expanding its unilateral visa-free access list to 47 the policy, which will remain in effect through June 8, 2026, holders of ordinary passports from these four countries can enter China without a visa for up to 30 days for purposes such as business, tourism, family visits, cultural exchange, and the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have established reciprocal visa-free arrangements with China since 2018, which means all six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) now enjoy visa-free access to expansion has been warmly welcomed across the Gulf region and is expected to boost bilateral exchanges, strengthen cultural and people-to-people ties, and inject new momentum into broader China-GCC a statement posted on platform X following China's announcement in late May, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the move would "contribute to encouraging mutual visits and deepening the bonds of friendship between the two friendly peoples."Naif Awlia, director of tourism and engagement at Saudi tourism developer Diriyah Company, also hailed the policy as a positive step forward. "Friendly ties are the foundation of long-term cooperation, and we look forward to deepening our partnership with China," he Travel, one of the largest travel companies in the Gulf region and an early mover in promoting outbound tourism to China, has launched new travel packages since the announcement, targeting residents of the UAE, Bahrain, and Saudi and Gulf countries already enjoy strong air travel connectivity, and the new visa-free policy is anticipated to further boost travel about 20 direct flights operate weekly between major Chinese cities -- including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen -- and Saudi destinations such as Riyadh and Jeddah. The UAE is connected to 13 cities across the Chinese mainland with direct ahead, Chinese carrier Hainan Airlines plans to launch a direct Haikou-Jeddah route on June 28, while UAE carrier Emirates will begin daily nonstop service between Dubai and Shenzhen on July say the new policy reflects the growing political, economic, and cultural ties between China and the Gulf region. In 2024, trade between China and GCC countries reached $288.09 billion, making the GCC China's sixth-largest trading latest step underscores China's continued push to open its doors wider to global visitors, in line with its commitment to high-level late 2023, China has introduced a series of traveler-friendly policies. Starting June 1, holders of ordinary passports from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay are eligible for unilateral visa-free entry -- the first time such access has been extended to Latin American and Caribbean the visa-free transit period has been extended to 240 hours for travelers from 54 initiatives have already had a noticeable impact. In 2024, China recorded 3.39 million entries under its unilateral visa-free policy, a year-on-year surge of 1,200 percent. During the recent three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday, 231,000 foreigners entered China without a visa, up 59.4 percent from a year earlier. Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, said foreign travelers come not only to visit China's landscapes and cities but also to experience everyday life. "These visits offer opportunities to discover the real China," he said.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
01-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Asean and our neighbouring countries now drifting closer to China
Deepseek says that in 2023 Asean countries exported goods worth $416 billion to China and imported goods worth $495.7 billion from them TNC Rajagopalan Listen to This Article Last Tuesday, the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and China gathered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with a view to enhance economic co-operation. The joint announcement after the Asean-GCC-China summit talked of, besides many other issues, promoting free trade, negotiations for a Asean-China Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade and a China-GCC free trade agreement. Such conferences and announcements are not uncommon. However, it is remarkable that the smaller member countries of Asean prioritize the benefits of interdependence, keeping aside many differences between them. Asean is a grouping of Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia,
Malaysia Sun
28-05-2025
- Business
- Malaysia Sun
Chinese premier returns to Beijing after official visit to Indonesia, ASEAN-China-GCC summit in Malaysia
BEIJING, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang returned to Beijing on Wednesday aboard a chartered plane after paying an official visit to Indonesia and attending the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations)-China-GCC (the Gulf Cooperation Council) Summit in Malaysia. Li was seen off from the airport by Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook, Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Ouyang Yujing and Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN Hou Yanqi.
Kyodo News
28-05-2025
- Business
- Kyodo News
China, ASEAN, Arab states hold 1st summit to bolster economic ties
KYODO NEWS - 23 hours ago - 20:25 | World, All Leaders of China, Southeast Asia and six Arab nations held their first meeting Tuesday in Malaysia to bolster economic cooperation between the three parties, the population of which accounts for one quarter of the world's, amid global trade tensions over U.S. tariffs. Chinese Premier Li Qiang said at the meeting in Kuala Lumpur that his country, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Gulf Cooperation Council nations should "set a fine example of opening up across regions." "Our markets, if fully connected, will generate even greater space for development," Li said, referring to China-ASEAN free trade agreement and China-GCC free trade pact, which the Asian superpower and the six Arab countries are trying to reach. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said ASEAN, GCC and China collectively represent a combined gross domestic product of $24.87 trillion, which is growing exponentially, and have a population of approximately 2.15 billion. "The collective scale offers vast opportunities to synergize our markets, deepen innovation and promote cross-regional investment," Anwar said. "I am confident that ASEAN, GCC and China can grow on our unique attributes and shape a future that is more connected," he added. The meeting was held as China aims to boost ties with other economies, following a tit-for-tat trade war with the United States that ended in a preliminary deal earlier this month to lower recently imposed tariffs on each other's imports. Southeast Asian countries are seeking to diversify their trade partners and reduce reliance on the United States after President Donald Trump announced so-called reciprocal tariffs in April, with duties ranging from 10 percent to 49 percent to be imposed on the 10 members of ASEAN. The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. According to a draft joint statement of the trilateral summit, obtained by Kyodo News, the three parties recognized that the diversity of their economies "creates new opportunities for greater cross-sectoral trade, investment, and economic collaboration." ASEAN and the GCC held their second summit earlier Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur. Leaders of the two regional blocs met for the first time in 2023 in Saudi Arabia, where they agreed to meet every two years. The ASEAN members as a group represent the world's fifth-largest economy with a combined GDP of $3.8 trillion, while China remains the bloc's biggest trading partner with bilateral trade valued at $696.7 billion in 2023, according to a statement from the Malaysian Prime Minister's Office released Monday. Total trade between ASEAN and the GCC reached $130.7 billion that year, according to the statement. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Related coverage: ASEAN leaders meet as U.S. tariffs rattle regional economies Tariffs to hurt U.S. more than others: ex-Malaysia PM Mahathir ASEAN-plus-3 finance chiefs warn of protectionism after U.S. tariffs
Malaysia Sun
28-05-2025
- Business
- Malaysia Sun
Full text: Remarks by Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the ASEAN-China-GCC Summit
KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday addressed the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations)-China-GCC (the Gulf Cooperation Council) Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The following is the full text of his remarks at the summit: Remarks by H.E. Li Qiang Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China At the ASEAN-China-GCC Summit Kuala Lumpur, May 27, 2025 Your Honorable Prime Minister Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Your Highness Crown Prince Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Colleagues, It gives me great pleasure to join you in Kuala Lumpur. First of all, the Chinese side would like to extend sincere appreciation to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for his vision in proposing the ASEAN-China-GCC Summit. We also wish to express our heartfelt thanks to the Malaysian government for the dedicated efforts and thoughtful arrangements made for the summit. China, ASEAN and GCC countries have a long history of friendly interactions, with exchanges and cooperation between us spanning thousands of years from the ancient Silk Road to the Belt and Road Initiative. Today, against a volatile international landscape and sluggish global growth, the establishment of the ASEAN-China-GCC Summit creates a platform for exchanges and a mechanism for cooperation. It is a groundbreaking initiative in regional economic cooperation that has carried forward the legacy of history, and more importantly, answered the call of the times. If we take a look at the world map and draw a line between China, ASEAN and the GCC, we will get a big triangle. As we know, triangle is the most stable structure. By enhancing connectivity and cooperation, we can pool our resources, production capacity and markets to foster a vibrant economic circle and growth pole. This is highly important both to our respective economic prosperity and to peace and development in Asia and the world. We should firmly seize this historic opportunity to enrich the trilateral cooperation, and set a fine example for global cooperation and development in this era. First, we should set a fine example of opening up across regions. Together, China, ASEAN and the GCC account for roughly a quarter of the world's population and economic output. Our markets, if fully connected, will generate even greater space for development and more substantial economies of scale. The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 upgrade negotiations have been fully concluded. It is hoped that the negotiations for the China-GCC Free Trade Agreement can also be concluded as early as possible to take trilateral trade to a higher level. We should firmly expand regional opening up, and develop a big market with more efficient mobility of resources, technologies and talents and enhanced trade and investment liberalization and facilitation to fully unlock the huge potential of open development. Second, we should set a fine example of cooperation across development stages. Countries of the three sides are at different stages of development, yet we should not let these differences stand in the way of our cooperation, but transform them into complementary strengths that we can harness. China is ready to, on the basis of mutual respect and equality, work with ASEAN and the GCC to strengthen the alignment of development strategies, increase macro policy coordination, and deepen collaboration on industrial specialization. We should make efforts to turn our respective strengths into collective strengths, and help each other tackle development challenges. We should create a new model of international industrial and economic cooperation, and strive for coordinated development where everyone does its level best, efficiency is multiplied, and benefits are shared. Third, we should set a fine example of inter-civilization integration. Countries of the three sides have diverse civilizations. At the same time, we all belong to the same Asian family and share the same Asian values of peace, cooperation, openness and inclusiveness. We should deepen people-to-people exchanges to further consolidate the foundation for mutual trust. We should effectively manage differences in the spirit of mutual understanding, advance win-win cooperation through the exchange of ideas, and explore a new way for promoting the inclusiveness and common progress of different civilizations. China actively supports Prime Minister Anwar's initiative on Islam-Confucianism dialogue. We are ready to work with ASEAN and the GCC to implement the Global Civilization Initiative, promote mutual learning among civilizations, and pool more consensus and strengths for peace and development. Today, we have established the trilateral cooperation mechanism and drawn up a promising vision of joint development. What's more important now is for all sides to take concrete actions and advance substantive cooperation. Between our three sides, we should work together to promote cooperation in key areas and achieve more effective common development. China is ready to discuss with ASEAN and the GCC a trilateral action plan on high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. We should enhance synergy and connectivity in infrastructure, market rules and payment systems, actively consider establishing a regional business council, deepen economic integration, and make development more resilient and efficient. While expanding cooperation in traditional areas such as energy and agriculture, we also need to step up cooperation in emerging areas such as AI, the digital economy, and green and low-carbon development to foster and cultivate new growth drivers. We should also respond to our people's aspiration for enduring friendship, and deepen people-to-people exchanges. To promote travels and people-to-people bond between the three sides, China has decided to roll out an "ASEAN visa" for Southeast Asian countries offering five-year multiple-entry visas to eligible applicants for business and other purposes, and to extend unilateral visa-free policy to Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain on a trial basis, which will effectively give visa-free status to all GCC countries. At the global level, we should always stand on the right side of history and add more positive energy to world peace and development. We should pursue equal, mutually beneficial, open, inclusive, practical and efficient cooperation, and, through our example, encourage the international community to uphold multilateralism and free trade and reject unilateralism and protectionism. China will work with ASEAN and GCC countries to step up communication and coordination in multilateral mechanisms including the United Nations, vigorously defend the common interests of developing countries, categorically oppose hegemonism and power politics, and make global governance more just and equitable. As President Xi Jinping noted, "For us to break through the mist and embrace a bright future, the biggest strength comes from cooperation, and the most effective way is through solidarity." China will join ASEAN and the GCC in fostering synergies that multiply rather than simply add our individual strengths, and inject strong impetus into our common development and prosperity. I am confident that through our concerted efforts, trilateral cooperation will continue to produce positive results and deliver more benefits to our people, thereby making greater contributions to peace and development in Asia and the world. Thank you.
