Fifth China-Arab States Expo seals business deals worth $24 billion

A total of 277 deals worth approximately 156.7 billion yuan ($24 billion) have been signed at the fifth China-Arab States Expo in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

The deals cover various fields including electronic information, clean energy, new materials, green food and tourism cooperation.

Among them, investment of nearly 154 billion yuan was pooled to support 199 projects, while 24 trade projects worth 2.75 billion yuan were also inked during the expo.

At the national level, eight cooperational projects were signed at this Expo, with a total investment of 11.18 billion yuan, including Indonesia’s Cirata Floating Photovoltaic Power Plant project and Red Sea integrated smart energy investment project.

Meanwhile, eight provinces and cities, including Beijing, Tianjin, Zhejiang, Henan, and Guangdong, have signed 12 investment projects with Arab countries and other countries along the Belt and Road routes, with a total investment of 7.43 billion yuan.

Three policy reports were released during the Expo, covering economic and trade relations between China and Arab States and South-South cooperation.

This year’s expo is held both online and offline for the first time in history. More than 1,000 domestic and overseas enterprises have registered as exhibitors for offline and virtual events at the expo.

Since its inauguration in 2013, the biennial expo has attracted more than 5,000 enterprises from around 110 countries. In 2019, a total of 287 deals worth about 185.42 billion yuan were signed at the fourth China-Arab States Expo.

The four-day session aims to strengthen economic and trade ties between China and the Arab world, as well as countries along the Belt and Road. The expo includes a series of forums and exhibitions, covering agriculture, technology, tourism and international capacity cooperation.

UAE-CHINA TIES: Obaid Al Dhaheri, UAE Ambassador to China, said the bilateral ties between the UAE and China are witnessing a historic and special era, as the two countries are supporting each other in regional and international events.

In his statement during the inauguration of the 5th China-Arab States Expo in Yinchuan, China, Al Dhaheri stressed that China and Arab countries share profound historic ties. He also expressed his wishes for the exhibition’s success in reinforcing the economic, commercial and investment relations between China and the Arab region, which witnessed their golden era during the Tang Dynasty in the seventh century, he added, noting that prosperous commercial ties between the two sides enabled the exchange of scientific knowledge in medicine, mathematics and astronomy.

“Today, these relations have been re-established based on mutual respect and benefits, during what has proven to be another golden era for China and the Arab region and the greatest model of Emirati-Chinese ties,” he added.

The commercial and economic relations between the two friendly countries, since the establishment of their diplomatic ties in 1984, have maintained a positive developmental approach and were upgraded in 2018 to a comprehensive strategic partnership during the historic visit of Xi Jinping, President of China, to the UAE, followed by the visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to China the following year, he added.

The UAE was among the first countries to join the Belt and Road Initiative and is also a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Al Dhaheri said, noting the UAE accounts for 28 per cent of the non-oil trade between China and Arab countries, amounting to over US$50 billion, while over 6,000 Chinese companies operate in the UAE, which participates in over 650 investment projects in China.

Al Dhaheri affirmed the UAE’s pride as a key regional logistics centre and the link between China and the Arab region, noting that over 60 per cent of China’s trade with West Asia and North Africa passes through the country.

“Due to the changes and challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the UAE has harnessed its logistical capacities to help manufacture and distribute Chinese vaccines. We aim to deliver 18 billion doses to Arab countries and the rest of the world by the end of the year,” he said.

“This year, 2021, is a special year, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the UAE and host Expo 2020 Dubai in October, which will host over 190 countries,” he added.

He also described the international event as a new opportunity to shape a shared UAE-China vision to provide a foundation for expanding partnerships and cooperation, especially in innovation.