UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum held a wide-ranging session with Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Monday. Belt and the road to international cooperation.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum stressed the UAE's keenness on the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and the follow-up by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. And to expand the scope of constructive cooperation at various levels in the light of the political will of the two countries to push forward further ideas in support of the strategic partnership between the two countries, which was confirmed during the historic visit of President Xi Jinping to the UAE last year, Represented a new starting point for the partnership between the two countries, particularly at the economic level, which is an important pillar of bilateral relations.
"Economic cooperation adds a strategic dimension to the UAE-China partnership and the historic relations between the two countries. We are keen to expand this partnership with China's friend. We look forward to more opportunities for cooperation at both the public and private sectors," he said. Our aim is to promote cooperation between the two countries to new heights in various fields. "
He stressed that the close relations and the existing strategic partnership with China, with all its great cultural and economic components, support the UAE's direction towards the future and enhance the possibilities of joint work towards creating conditions to serve the aspirations of the two sides to achieve qualitative development achievements that assure the leadership of the two friendly peoples. Progress in various fields.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said: "China is a great country with a long history of civilization. It is the first trading partner of our country in the past five years. We look forward to increasing the volume of trade between the two countries to 70 billion dollars by 2020. And the development plans in the two countries .. And facilitate the climate to reach new development prospects .. And open the way to the achievement of unlimited successes .. The common will to expand the circle of cooperation a strong foundation, which we proceed together to achieve the desired strategic objectives for the future.
The two sides agreed on the importance of working to raise the level of cooperation in the field of tourism at a time when the UAE-China relations are witnessing a remarkable development in this regard, as the UAE visited in 2018 more than 850 thousand Chinese tourists.
The meeting discussed the prospects of expanding cooperation at the private sector level, taking advantage of the supportive environment provided by the UAE for global investments, including strong infrastructure, high reliability, world-class air and sea ports that facilitate access to the region's vast markets, The UAE-based regional companies have more than 4,000 companies.
The UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai expressed his appreciation for the "Belt and Road" initiative as a qualitative initiative that paves the way for a new phase of global economic cooperation based on openness, pluralism and opportunity sharing. As a main and central station and a central point of access to the markets of the region and the continent of Africa and the positive results that can result in the large geographical scope covered by the Chinese initiative, and all the new dimensions to enhance trade exchange, tourism and cultural Participating countries.
He praised China's achievements in the fields of advanced science and the related technological development in which China has succeeded in keeping an advanced position. "Scientific and technological progress in China is an incentive to increase the exchange of experiences to build human and technical capabilities and capabilities, The forms of investment, which we seek to expand the circle of partnership with the world to consolidate its foundation and raise the ceiling of its desired results. "
For his part, President Xi Jinping welcomed the visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and his accompanying delegation to the People's Republic of China and his participation in the second session of the Forum of the Belt and the Road for International Cooperation, praising His Highness's efforts in enhancing bilateral relations and its impact in cementing ties of friendship and cooperation between His country and the UAE, which China is a strategic partner in the region.
President Ping expressed his appreciation for the pioneering role of the UAE under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, at the regional and international levels, and its contribution to advancing the pace of international cooperation and its keenness to provide bridges of communication with the peoples of the world. The UAE's balance in its foreign relations and its leadership's keenness to affirm the UAE's role in spreading the spirit of tolerance and cooperation as an important foundation for enabling the peoples of the world to meet the common challenges facing the world.
The talks dealt with the overall relations between the UAE and China and means of strengthening them and enhancing the level of bilateral cooperation to new levels that add new strategic dimensions to the historical ties that have long brought together the two countries and the two friendly peoples in the light of the consensus of the importance of continuing efforts to develop the partnership between the two sides. Political and economic development by exploring more opportunities for integration and continuing to encourage the private sector in both the UAE and China to monitor and activate more opportunities for increased cooperation, particularly in terms of investment and exchange. Commercial and tourism.
The mutual investments between the UAE and China are flourishing in many specific areas, including port operation, economic zones development, manufacturing, petrochemicals, oil and gas, technology and hospitality, tourism, real estate, wholesale and retail trade, financial services and others. Innovation, technology, scientific research, advanced industries, artificial intelligence, small and medium-sized enterprises and other pathways for the future.
China is the UAE's first trading partner. Total non-oil trade in 2017 was more than US $ 53.3 billion, with growth of 15%. UAE accounted for 30% of China's exports to Arab countries and 22% of total trade. In the year 2017, and the number of Chinese companies operating in the country until that year more than 4000 companies including free zone companies, in addition to about 300 commercial agencies and 5000 brands.