BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the eighth ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum on Tuesday in Beijing, announcing that China and Arab countries had agreed to establish a strategic partnership.

Arab experts and scholars spoke highly of Xi's speech, saying it is very encouraging.

Xi's announcement at the forum that China and the Arab countries had agreed to establish a "Sino-Arab future-oriented strategic partnership of comprehensive cooperation and common development" highly encouraged the Arab world, said Mohamed Farahat, head of the Asia program at Cairo-based Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies.

It showed that China-Arab cooperation has stood at a new starting point in history, said Farahat.

Xi's speech elaborated China's policies on Arab countries, drew a roadmap for bilateral cooperation, which has signaled that China-Arab relations have stepped on a brand new development stage, said Abdul Aziz, a lecturer of journalism at the University of Iraq.

In the speech, Xi spoke of concrete cooperation between China and Arab countries in various fields, such as politics, economy, science and technology, and culture, and that was very uplifting, said Khalid Al-Montaser, a Libyan professor on international relations.

Xi proposed a brand new roadmap, which not only covers economic cooperation, but also includes all-dimensional cooperation in politics, culture, technology and strategic synergy, said Nasr Arif, former director of the Institute for Islamic World Research at the Zayed University based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Tariq Fahmy, professor of political science at American University in Cairo, said that Xi's speech again made clear China's policies on the Middle East and the Arab world.

Xi's speech has shown that China is a major country, a partner of Arab countries and a reliable country for Arab countries in the world arena, the professor said.

The speech is very pragmatic and gives people hopes, said Salim Hamadi, an Algerian political analyst.

One concrete project after another shows that China sincerely hopes to join hands with Arab countries for development and building China-Arab States community of shared future, he said.

Samir Abdullah, a Palestinian economic expert and former minister of planning, believed that the scope of China-Arab cooperation is widening gradually, especially the Belt and Road Initiative which fits the development agenda of Arab countries and China.

Taking this opportunity, cooperation between Arab countries and China will be more closer, comprehensive, while bilateral cooperation in politics, economy and trade, security and culture will be strengthened further, said the former minister.

This forum meeting provided a good platform for Arab countries to gather together to discuss regional peace and development, said Alanoud Alsabah, a Kuwaiti expert on China.?