China-Arab relations have centuries to come

 　　DUBAI, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The three-day Annual Investment Summit ended Thursday with the China-Arab Leadership Forum¹, where United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of Foreign Trade Sheikha Lubna Bint Khaled Al Qassimi said in her opening speech strong trade and economic relations between both sides were have just seen their debut².

　　Bilateral³ trade between the UAE and China reach 36 billion U.S. dollars last year, while trade between both countries soared by more than a third per year since the start of the new millennium⁴.

　　"We are confident that this is just the beginning of a long journey and we invite China's political leadership and businessmen to work hard with us together that China-Arab relations will have centuries to come," Sheikha Lubna said.

　　The China-Arab Leadership Forum was also attended by Deputy Beijing Mayor Xia Zhanji, Chinese General Consul⁵ to Dubai Zhan Jingbao and Zhou Jue, Chairman of China-Arab Exchange Association.

　　At the sidelines of the forum, Chinese and Arab businessmen met in one-on-one meetings to explore new opportunities of expanding trade and economic ties.

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

3 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

4 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

5 consul   

n.领事；执政官

参考例句：

• A consul's duty is to help his own nationals.领事的职责是帮助自己的同胞。
• He'll hold the post of consul general for the United States at Shanghai.他将就任美国驻上海总领事(的职务)。