Kuwait

Note: This column mainly includes countries along the Belt and Road and countries that have signed cooperation agreements with China on Belt and Road Initiative.

In 2013, the friendly and cooperative relations between the People's Republic of China and the State of Kuwait continued to grow steadily in various fields.

The two countries enjoyed close exchanges at all levels. In March, Kuwaiti Emir Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Crown Prince Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Prime Minister Jaber Al-Mubarak Al- Hamad Al-Sabah sent congratulatory messages to President Xi Jinping on his election as President of China. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah sent a congratulatory message to Wang Yi on his assuming office as Foreign Minister. In April, Emir Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Crown Prince Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al- Jaber Al-Sabah, Prime Minister Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah sent letters of condolences to President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and Foreign Minister Wang Yi respectively following the earthquake in Lushan, Sichuan Province.

In November, Minister of Civil Affairs Li Liguo attended the third Arab-Africa Summit held in Kuwait as the special envoy of President Xi Jinping. In May, Yuan Jiajun, Vice Chairman of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region visited Kuwait. In February, Yousef Al-Ebraheem, Special Envoy of the Emir of Kuwait, and Rola Dashti, Special Envoy of Kuwaiti Prime Minister, Minister of State for Planning and Development Affairs and Minister of State for National Assembly, visited China respectively. In September, Anas Khalid Al-Saleh, Minister of Commerce and Industry, attended the 2013 China-Arab States Expo in Yinchuan, Ningxia as representative of the guest country of honor.

The two countries made smooth progress in their cooperation in economy, trade, energy and finance. Steady progress was made in the Sino-Kuwait Refinery-Chemical Integration Project in Guangdong. China Securities Regulatory Commission raised the investment quota for Kuwait Sovereign Wealth Fund in China's securities market to US$1 billion.

Bilateral exchanges in culture and education continued to increase. Kuwait's Gulf University of Science and Technology and China's Sun Yatsen University jointly initiated the first Chinese language training course in Kuwait.

Source: fmprc.gov.cn