On May 8, 2012, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi held talks with visiting Secretary-General Nabil El Araby of the Arab League (AL).

Yang praised the AL's active role in promoting world and regional peace and stability and thanked the Arab countries and the AL for their firm support on issues concerning China's core interests and major concerns. He stressed that the Chinese government attaches great importance to developing friendly relations with Arab countries and the AL, firmly supports the just cause of the Arab people, supports Arab countries to explore the development path suited to their own national conditions, and has been actively promoting peace and development of the Middle East.

Araby thanked China for its valuable support of the just cause of Arab people, saying that the Arab-China friendship enjoys a solid foundation, with fruitful cooperation in various fields. The Arab side attaches great importance to developing relations with China and is willing to work with China to create a better future of Arab-China relations.

The two sides also exchanged views on preparations for the fifth ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF), the situation in West Asia and North Africa and other issues.