Foreign Minister Wang Yi (C) attends the opening of the seventh ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in Doha, capital of Qatar, May 12, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

DOHA - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi emphasized on Thursday that railways and ports are key symbols of the China-Arab relations during his attendance to the seventh ministerial conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF).

"Camels and sailing boats marked the ancient Silk Road," Wang said, adding that "nowadays, the China-Arab cooperative relations can be labeled by railway and port under the Belt and Road Initiative framework."

The Chinese official expressed the points of view in his speech on the opening ceremony of the CASCF ministerial meeting, which was held in Doha on Thursday.

Since its establishment in 2004, the CASCF has made great achievements in the past 12 years.

In 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping highlighted a "1+2+3" cooperation pattern under the Belt and Road Initiative for China-Arab relations in his keynote speech during the sixth CASCF ministerial conference.

In January, Chinese government issued its first policy document to the Arab states before Xi's visit to the region, providing a plan of future for the cooperation between the two sides.