China-Arab Forum to Boost Trade Ties, Opens in Northwest China（在线收听）

The second China-Arab States Economic and Trade Forum has opened in northwest China with the aim of further strengthening economic and trade ties between China and Arabic states.

Jia Qinglin, China's top political advisor, opened the forum in Yinchuan, capital city of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The region is home to more than 10 percent of China's 20 million Muslims.

Alongside the forum, a trade fair will feature halal food, Muslim commodities and energy and chemical engineering products.

More than 7,000 delegates, including 1,200 from 76 other countries and regions, are attending this year's forum and trade fair.

The five-day forum will focus on economic and trade cooperation in the areas of agriculture, science and technology, energy, finance, tourism and the publishing sector.

For more on the forum, earlier I spoke with Wu Bingbing, head of the Department of Arabic Language and Culture at Peking University.