China engages with Sharjah to boost trade

SHARJAH, 7th May, 2015 (WAM) -- Having identified the UAE as an important partner, China is looking at engaging individual emirates to boost its economic and trade ties with the second-largest economy in the Arab world that has a GDP of over US$400 billion, according to a statement issued by the Expo Centre Sharjah . The recent visit by a Chinese delegation to Sharjah and its meeting with top executives of Expo Centre Sharjah assumes significance in the wake of the launch of ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative, a grand design to create trade routes through Central Asia and its maritime equivalent around the Indian Ocean covering 3.81 billion people and accounting for US$16.42 trillion in economic output, the statement said. With the UAE joining the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, AIIB, which was initiated by Chinese President, Xi Jinping, as a founding member, strategic ties between the UAE and China are set to strengthen further. The Chinese delegation was led by Zhang Yanfei, Vice-Chairman, China World Trade Centre (CWTC), and included Qian Xiao Jin, Assistant General Manager, CWTC, and Li Shumei, Manager, General Affairs Division, CWTC, among others. During the meeting between the Chinese delegation and the Expo Centre Sharjah team, led by CEO Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, they discussed mutual cooperation and how both sides can benefit from the new initiatives that are launched to boost the US$54.8 billion bilateral trade between the countries. "We attach great importance to bilateral ties with China and in view of the recent developments we are looking to play a major role in further strengthening our cooperation that will provide new momentum to our already strong economic, trade and cultural ties," said Midfa after the meeting with the Chinese delegation. Sharjah has been a facilitator of trade between the UAE and China, with recently released data pointing out that bilateral trade between Sharjah and China is expanding fast, and was expected to cross US$5 billion in 2014. "The UAE and Sharjah will be a catalyst of trade activities between the countries as China is aiming to more than double its trade volumes with the region in the coming decade. We also aim to receive a major chunk of Chinese investment in the region, which attracts about a quarter of Chinese firms’ global investments," Midfa added. Expo Centre Sharjah, established nearly three-and-a-half decades ago as the first exhibition facility in the UAE, is the region’s leading trade exhibition venue and a geographic as well as financial landmark for the Emirate of Sharjah and the country. - Emirates News Agency, WAM – http://www.wam.ae/en/news/economics/1395280211991.html