On February 19, 2025, Ambassador Zhang Jianwei gave Albawadi TV, a local TV station in Kuwait, an exclusive interview where he responded to the reporter’s questions on China-Kuwait relations.
When asked about political interactions between the two sides, Ambassador Zhang quoted Kuwait’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Jarrah as saying that China-Kuwait friendship is built on the basis of mutual respect, mutual benefit and the pursuit of common development, adding that such friendship is more than ordinary diplomatic relationship and has become a model for state-to-state relations. Six decades ago, the late Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, then Minister of Finance, Industry and Commerce, visited China, laying a solid foundation for the later establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations. In 1971, we officially forged diplomatic relationship, making Kuwait the first Arab country of the Gulf to do so. Since then, the heads of state of our two nations have maintained sound interactions. President Xi Jinping met with Amir Sheikh Mishal in Riyad in December 2022 and in Hangzhou in September 2023 respectively, whereby they reached important consensus on the deepening of China-Kuwait strategic partnership. Not long ago, the contract regarding the Mubarak Al Kabeer port was signed, marking a major progress in our cooperation on major projects. Moving forward, China is ready to work with the Kuwaiti side to implement the important common understandings between the two heads of state and increase the synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and “Kuwait Vision 2035”, in order to substantiate our strategic partnership.
When it comes to economic and trade cooperation, Ambassador Zhang pointed out that China has remained the largest trading partner of Kuwait for ten years in a row and that practical cooperation between the two sides has made sound progress in various fields including energy, infrastructure, communications and trade, producing many satisfactory results. To date, there have been 60 Chinese enterprises doing business in Kuwait. They have undertaken over 80 projects in the country, among which some major projects, such as the new headquarter office building of the Central Bank of Kuwait, the Sabah Al Salem University City and the South Al-Mutlaa housing infrastructure project, have been completed. Their presence has played a major role in the updating of local infrastructure and the improvement of people’s wellbeing. Huawei collaborated with the Kuwaiti side in training a number of local information technology professionals and turning Kuwait into the first Middle East country that has achieved nationwide coverage of its 5G network. Recently, China achieved a major technological breakthrough in the artificial intelligence sector, with its home-developed AI model DeepSeek stirring global attention. This attests to China’s research and development capabilities. Going forward, China stands ready to work with Kuwait to keep deepening our practical cooperation, encourage more capable and well-reputed Chinese companies to take active part in the development of Kuwait, and fully tap our cooperation potential in high-tech sectors, so as to deliver greater benefits to the two countries and peoples.
When talking about people-to-people exchanges between the two sides, Ambassador Zhang said China and Kuwait both belong to the family of Eastern civilizations, adding that though we are thousands of miles apart, we always respect and admire each other and our peoples keep connected with each other. Since the first China Cultural Center in the Gulf region opened for trial operation in Kuwait in 2023, a diversity of cultural events has been launched, making the cultural center a window for the local people to get to know China. Our Kuwaiti friends were actively engaged in the cultural exchanges between us. For example, Princess Anoud travelled to China’s city of Yangzhou to improve her Chinese painting and calligraphy skills from a local master. With joint efforts of both sides, cultural exchanges between China and Kuwait have flourished over the years, and mutual visits between the youths, media outlets and institutions of higher learning have continued to grow. This has played a key role in enhancing mutual understanding and friendly ties between the two peoples. China boasts splendid natural scenery and prestigious universities. We welcome more Kuwaiti friends to visit China, either for pleasure or for study, and become a bridge for civilizational exchanges. China will continue to conduct various activities to facilitate people-to-people exchange and mutual learning between civilizations, in an effort to foster closer ties between the two peoples, enrich the strategic partnership and build a China-Kuwait community with a shared future.