China's cooperation with the Arab nations in areas such as science and technologies continues up to this day as evident in the recently held fourth China-Arab States Expo in China's Ningxia University.
The cooperation has resulted in various joint projects in countries such as Oman and Egypt, which have benefited from new water-saving irrigation systems.
The joint projects involve the use of new technologies such as underground piping, wind and solar energy, and intelligent control devices. The technologies are developed by teams from both China and several Arab nations.
During the event, the dean of the university's resource and environment department and the head of the China-Arab joint laboratory, Sun Zhaojun, expressed his enthusiasm towards continued cooperation. Sun mentioned that the technologies and solutions that they have jointly developed are now becoming more and more popular in Arab countries given how it saves on both labor and cost.
The China-Arab States Expo is a biannual event, which aims to establish new partnerships on the development of new technologies that benefit both regions.
The last event was held in 2017, which saw the signing of various technology-transfer cooperation agreements between the University of Oman and Ningxia University.
Since then, dozens of water-saving irrigation equipment have been developed and sent to Oman from China. At this year's event, which was held over the weekend, China and Egypt signed a similar agreement for the same water-saving irrigation technology.
Ain Shams University of Egypt dean of Faculty of Agriculture, Ahmed Galal, mentioned during the event that the country was very impressed with China's water-saving irrigation systems. Egypt plans to use the technology in its desert areas, where water and electricity are difficult to access.
The cooperative program is now slowly becoming a vital platform for China to push its Belt and Road Initiative to Arab nations. Apart from the environmental technologies featured during the expo, several other cooperative technologies were also showcased during the event. This included exhibitions displaying new innovations in fields such as aerospace, new energy mobility, artificial intelligence, and healthcare.
Most of the technologies on display during the event were developed through the China-Arab technology cooperation initiative.
The United Arab Emirates' undersecretary for Foreign Trade and Industry, Abdullah Ahmed Al Saleh, stated during the expo that there is a huge amount of opportunities for both China and the Arab nations as they cooperative develop new innovations in the various technological fields. The official noted that the innovations that will result in the partnership should be of great benefit to both sides.
