Golden era for China-UAE ties

Abdulla Ahmed Al Saleh, undersecretary of the UAE's Ministry of Economy，speaks to the media during the 21st China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Tuesday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The United Arab Emirates and China are in their golden era of cooperation, with bilateral cooperation and partnership reaching a new level, said a UAE senior official on Tuesday.

"Since 2019 until now, we have witnessed a growth of 62 percent in our trade relations," said Abdulla Ahmed Al Saleh, undersecretary of the UAE's Ministry of Economy.

The bilateral trade volume exceeded $95 billion last year, he said.

Al Saleh was speaking to the media during the 21st China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The 21st CAEXPO was held from Tuesday to Saturday, with the UAE being a "special partner country" at this year's event. It marked the first time that a Gulf Cooperation Council member had participated in the expo under this designation.

Attending the CAEXPO for the first time, Al Saleh noted that connecting people on the same platform is the best way to increase the flow of investments and trade between countries.

This will not only result in sustainable growth for both sides, but also contribute to the growth of the global economy, said Al Saleh.

China has been the UAE's largest trading partner for years, with non-oil trade between them reaching $81 billion in 2023. The UAE is China's largest export market and second-largest trading partner in the Middle East.

Noting that 2024 marks the 40th anniversary of China-UAE diplomatic ties, Al Saleh said their bilateral cooperation spanned various sectors.

After the two sides upgraded their bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2018, a lot of high-level exchanges, dialogues, and forums were held.

A great number of memoranda of understanding and agreements were also signed between the UAE and China to diversify their cooperation, said Al Saleh.

"During the last visit of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in May, we also witnessed more than 30 MoUs that were signed between the two sides," he added.

The UAE, which had announced its support for the Belt and Road Initiative in 2015, is exploring new cooperation with China in areas such as smart city, digital economy, clean energy, and tourism, said Al Saleh.

Strengthening the relationship in the business sector, especially among small and medium-sized enterprises, is also key to future cooperation, he added.

"If you look at the latest development … in China, especially in the innovation and knowledge-based economy, I think the UAE can benefit from its cooperation with China to transfer the knowledge and build on the capabilities that China has in this field," said Al Saleh.

With the UAE transforming its economy through innovation, Al Saleh said that he sees huge potential for upgrading the country's cooperation with China, considering that there are around 350,000 Chinese people living in the UAE and investments made by Chinese companies in the UAE have reached $6 billion.

Al Saleh said the UAE can be a gateway to the Middle East and African markets for Chinese investors who wish to expand their business.