Pak Sahafat – Although China could not send its national team to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, its contribution to the implementation of infrastructure and cooperation with the Qataris to hold an ideal tournament is so impressive that the unique “Lucille” stadium built by the Chinese in Doha and on Qatari banknotes cannot be ignored.
According to Pak Sahafat News Agency’s report on Tuesday, the 2022 Qatar Football World Cup will start in Doha, Qatar in less than a month. This is the first football World Cup in Asia since the last 20 years, which was hosted by Japan and South Korea, and after the 2022 Beijing Olympics, it will be the second international sports event this year in Asia.
This important event in history is considered as a sign of the development of cooperation and trust between China and Qatar.
Chinese companies were responsible for building the 80,000-seat magnificent, golden and stunning Lucille Stadium, the largest venue for the World Cup. In addition, many football fans from China will follow this sporting event both through the media and closely.
The golden color and stunning beauty of this stadium have made it known as the jewel of the Qatar World Cup.
Qataris have spent huge amounts of money to build these huge and beautiful structures and other necessary infrastructures; Valuable expenses that should be considered as an investment for the future of Qatar’s economy and sports.
In an exclusive interview with Qatar’s ambassador to China, the Chinese media Global Times published details about the preparations for the start of this sporting event, along with the expansion of strategic and joint relations between China and Qatar.
Close relationships
In 2022, high-level meetings were held between China and Qatar, including the meeting between the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamid Al Thani, and the President of China, Xi Jinping, at the opening ceremony of the China Winter Olympics. He emphasized bilateral relations and strategic cooperation between the two countries in different fields including economy, energy, industry and tourism. This was while Qatar was preparing to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Therefore, Qatar sought to strengthen cooperation with China in the fields of trade, investment and sports in order to improve the level of cooperation in many fields with China.
In this regard, Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, also visited China and met with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on the sidelines of the third meeting of the foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries. They exchanged views on Afghanistan’s conditions and common regional and international issues and concerns.
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In recent years, China-Qatar relations have developed significantly, and the strengthening of mutual strategic trust has been on the agenda of the two countries. Qatar has been one of the important partners in the Belt and Road project as China’s second largest supplier of natural gas. This is while China has been Qatar’s biggest trading partner. In 2021, the volume of trade between the two countries reached more than 17 billion dollars, which was a 57% growth compared to 2020. It seems that trade exchanges will increase to more than 20 billion dollars by the end of 2022, and more Chinese companies will be involved in Qatar projects, including Lucille Stadium, Bandar Hamed and communication networks. Currently, more than 200 Chinese companies are operating in Qatar.
In addition, with the arrangements made in November and before the start of the World Cup, the Panda Park, which was sent to Qatar as a gift from China, will be reopened before November 20.
A celebration is planned
There is no doubt that this sporting event will attract the attention of the world. All the stadiums and supporting facilities for the World Cup, including the venue of the competitions and transportation facilities, and final preparations are underway. Lucille Stadium with a capacity of 80,000 people is known as the largest stadium of this tournament, which was built by China International Railway Company Group and was delivered to Qatar in December 2020.
In addition, the image of this stadium was recently printed on 10 Qatari Riyal banknotes, and this is the first time that a building built by Chinese is printed on Qatari currency. This shows that this stadium is not only an important building for the World Cup, but also a historical project that shows the pragmatic cooperation between the two countries, which tells the depth of their relations.
The hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar is for all Arab countries, and this event is the first of its kind in an Arab and Middle Eastern country, which is a testimony to the importance of Qatar in world sports. After 20 years, when the World Cup was hosted jointly with South Korea and Japan as Asian countries, and for the first time in the Middle East, Qatar’s hosting of this important global sports event shows Qatar’s excellent performance at the international and regional levels.
In this way, it was proved once again that Asian countries have the capacity and ability to host important sports events. Just as China successfully hosted the 2022 Winter Olympics despite the corona virus epidemic in the world.
As a result, all countries in the region benefit from Qatar’s success in holding the 2022 World Cup as well as possible.
Greater cooperation
Since 2019, Qatar has been trying to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. This year, at the 22nd meeting of the Council of Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Qatar officially became a member of this organization as a dialogue partner country.
Qatar’s foreign policy is especially aimed at developing constructive relations within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and aims to achieve the goal of full membership in this organization in the future.
In addition, large investments in the energy sector, especially in the natural gas sector, began in the 1980s and 1990s. Although countries are currently moving towards the use of clean energy, but natural gas can still be included among clean energy and will be very important in the future. Qatar has also invested in large natural gas production projects in recent years, and it is clear that China is also the biggest consumer of this energy. Therefore, many short-term and long-term contracts have been signed between the two countries.