On July 15th, the China-UAE readers’ seminar on the book Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, was held in the United Arab Emirates. The event coincided with a Chinese Books Exhibition Week and was held at the Lighthouse Cultural Centre on Saadiyat Island in the capital city, Abu Dhabi.
The attendees agreed that Xi’s book expounds upon the important discussion of where China comes from and where it is headed. History is the root of reality, and the future is a continuation of that reality. Only if we understand where a country comes from will we understand its current development and its future direction.
“Twenty-five years ago, when I took a flight to Beijing, I thought that I knew enough about China to write a book. But when I set foot in the country, I realized that I had just begun to understand it. Xi Jinping: The Governance of China has answered many questions that I have been thinking about for many years,” said Hussein Ismail, a China scholar who travelled from Egypt to attend the event. “I do some translation work, so I read through the English and Arabic versions of the book and got a good idea of its rich content. This book is worth reading by everyone—state leaders, professional researchers and regular people.”
“In recent years, China has proposed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), initiated the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), attached great importance to ecological protection and called on the world to build a community of shared future for mankind,” said Omar Al Bitar, former UAE ambassador to China. “President Xi Jinping has humanistic feelings and remarkable foresight. Under his leadership, the Chinese people have made great strides in terms of reform and opening up.”
Khalifa Tunagi, a UAE scholar on China said, “The BRI proposed by President Xi can meet the development needs of many countries. With the establishment of a future-oriented strategic partnership of comprehensive cooperation and common development between China and Arab states, the BRI will continue to act as bridge for UAE-China cooperative efforts.”