A recently unveiled poll result has shed light on what officials and experts call "the high level" of relations between China and Arab countries.

The Arab Barometer, a nonpartisan research network based at Princeton University in the United States, conducted polling from October last year to April this year in countries including Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia and Sudan.

The result shows that people in Arab states have more positive opinions about China than the US, the US magazine Newsweek reported last month.

"I'm not surprised to hear its result. China has always been a sincere friend that the Arab states can trust. In recent years, China-Arab relations have seen robust growth," Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters on Aug 12.

"We have firmly supported each other on our respective core interests and set an example in combating COVID-19 in solidarity. Our friendship is strong both between governments and between our peoples, and both at the central government and local levels," he added.

China-Arab ties have withstood the test of time over the past decades politically, economically and culturally, observers said.

Beijing speaks highly of all the Arab countries' stating their staunch support recently for the one-China principle, and "this has convincingly illustrated the high level of China-Arab relations", Chen Chuandong, the Chinese ambassador to Jordan, told local media last month.

Another example of the ties' high level is the China-League of Arab States Cooperation Initiative on Data Security launched in March last year.

Chinese ambassador to Saudi Arabia Chen Weiqing said in an article published in July that, "China and Arab countries share their belief in mutual benefits, win-win approach, openness and inclusiveness, which has laid a solid foundation for the two sides' lasting, steady friendly cooperation".

Wang Yiwei, a professor at the School of International Studies and director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University of China, said, "China and Arab countries' co-building the Belt and Road helps these Arab nations with brilliant ancient cultures to advance rejuvenation together and gives a boost to the building of a China-Arab community with a shared future.

"The increased economic and trade links between the two sides are also key to stabilizing and reshaping global supply chains," he added.

"Chinese culture and Arab Islamic culture share many values and pursuits, and for quite a long time, the two civilizations have enjoyed and appreciated each other and learned from each other," Ma Xinmin, Chinese ambassador to Sudan, said at the founding ceremony of the Chinese Language Teaching Union in Sudan on Aug 6.

Currently, more than 10 Arab countries have established Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms, and over 50 universities and colleges in China have established majors in the Arabic language, according to Ma.

zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn