BDS Promotes China-Arab Cooperation to Higher Level
“The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) is China’s first space infrastructure to provide public services for the world. During the development of the BeiDou-3 system, we have always kept our Arab friends in mind,” Wang Zhaoyao, Chairman of the China Satellite Navigation Committee, told reporters. “Today, a China-Arab “Space Silk Road” is in the making. The BDS is bound to promote the cooperation between China and Arab states to a higher level.”
In January 2016, China signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in terms of BDS development with Saudi Arabia, the Arab Information and Communication Technologies Organization (AICTO), and the Arab Academy for Science Technology & Maritime Transport(AASTMT) to establish a formal cooperation mechanism; in May 2017, the first China-Arab States BDS Cooperation Forum was held to build a High-end China-Arab states cooperation forum in satellite navigation; in April 2018, the first China-Arab States BDS/GNSS Center was inaugurated in Tunisia, serving as a open platform for the China-Arab cooperation in satellite navigation; in December 2018, China optimized its satellite launch plan to provide privileged services to BRI countries including the Arab states two years ahead of schedule; in April 2019, the second China-Arab States BDS Cooperation Forum was held, marking a long-term mechanism for the forum developed; in September 2019, China and Iraq signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on Beidou expansion, clearly reflecting an all-round cooperation in BDS application.