UAE seeks to strengthen economic ties with China

DUBAI - United Arab Emirates Minister of State Sultan Al-Jaber returned here on Friday from a two-day visit from China where he held talks on bilateral cooperation in the field of energy, infrastructure and technology.

During the visit, Dr Al Jaber met with senior Chinese government officials, including Chinese vice foreign minister Zhang Yesui. Talks were also held with Hu Zucai, vice chairman of the national development and reform commission as well as the chief economic officer of China's state administration of foreign exchange.

Discussions explored opportunities for collaboration and investment across sectors of mutual interest, including energy, infrastructure and technology. Al-Jaber said the UAE was looking to strengthen economic ties with China.

In a media statement, the UAE government said the visit was expected to lay the ground work for increased economic activity between the UAE and China.

Al-Jaber also met with Zheng Zhijie, the vice chairman of the China development bank (CBD). CBD is primarily responsible for raising capital to fund large Chinese infrastructure projects, such as the Three Gorges Dam and Shanghai international airport.

Al-Jaber who also serves as chairman of Abu Dhabi ports company said China and the UAE have a strong and growing bilateral relationship based on shared values and common political and economic interests.

"We are exploring opportunities to collaborate across various sectors of mutual interest including new and traditional energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, technology and finance," he said.

With 4,200 Chinese companies registered in the UAE, the UAE are the largest Middle East market for Chinese products. The four biggest Chinese banks run branches in Dubai. Around 200,000 Chinese nationals live in the UAE.

"With the accelerated growth of both our economies and our common vision for partnership, we see tremendous opportunity in working together to support our development plans and contribute to the broader global economy," added Al-Jaber.

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