UAE and China explore strengthening of cooperation in trade, investment, energy, manufacturing, technology, health & transportation

Non-oil trade exchange between the two countries amounted to AED 284 billion in 2022

During a roundtable meeting that was held recently in Dubai, H.E. Abdullah Al Saleh, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy; and H.E. Wang Wentao, Chinese Minister of Commerce, discussed the strengthening of cooperation between the two countries in the fields of trade, investment, real estate, energy, manufacturing, technology, renewable energy, health, transportation and digital transformation.

The meeting was also attended by H.E. Zhang Yiming, Chinese Ambassador to the UAE, in addition to several other Chinese government officials and leading UAE companies, most notably ADNOC, DP World, Emaar, Emirates airlines, and G42.

Thanks to the shared aspirations of both leaderships, the bilateral relations between the UAE and China continue to develop, building on a common vision to expand and diversify the existing comprehensive strategic partnership. It was established between the two countries in 2012 with a vision to drive sustainable development, covering new sectors in politics, economy, security, energy, and culture, and others.

H.E. Wang Wentao said: “We are keen to strengthen our partnership with the UAE to create new opportunities for its private sector and enable them to expand and grow in the Chinese market. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce remains committed to ensuring the development and sustainability of the operations of UAE companies in China in the long term.”

H.E. Al Saleh welcomed the Chinese delegation, emphasizing that the UAE-Chinese relations are strategic and continually prospering in all sectors including economy, trade, and investment.

H.E. further noted that the trade and investment exchanges between the two countries are witnessing remarkable growth, as the non-oil trade exchange between the two sides amounted to nearly AED 284 billion in 2022, up 27 per cent from 2021, and 80 per cent from that of 2018. Moreover, the UAE is China's top Arab trading partner as it accounts for 30 per cent of China's total non-oil trade with Arab countries. China remains the UAE's largest trading partner globally as of 2022.

The meeting saw the two sides explore several new mechanisms to enhance trade cooperation, build new partnerships, and provide support to exporters and importers to facilitate increased exchange of goods and services and their diversification. It also discussed mechanisms to enhance the UAE’s investments in the Chinese market and the means to capitalize on the promising investment opportunities they present, since more than 55 UAE companies are currently operating in China.

The Undersecretary said: “The two countries enjoy distinguished geographical locations and boast promising investment environment teeming with opportunities and capabilities in many economic and trade sectors. Currently, our investments in China span the sectors of real estate, tourism, travel, industry, infrastructure, technology, innovation, financial and banking services, energy, renewable energy, transportation, and healthcare. We are keen to enhance the UAE’s investments in the Chinese markets and diversify them further.”

China is the third largest foreign investor in the UAE as its FDI in the country amounted to nearly AED 23.3 billion (USD 6.3 billion) by the end of 2020, accounting for five per cent of the total global FDI inflows to the UAE. Chinese investments in the UAE are mainly concentrated in trade financial, insurance and real estate sectors.

Furthermore, the Undersecretary apprised the Chinese Minister of Commerce and his accompanying delegation of the economic policies adopted by the UAE to enhance the competitiveness of the national business environment. These include the provision of incentives and enablers to encourage the private sector to invest and expand in the UAE; the amendment of the Commercial Companies Law to allow 100 per cent foreign ownership; and the launch of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (CEPA) program in line with the strategic objectives of the Ministry of Economy in promoting entrepreneurship and its governance, and the economic objectives of the ‘We the UAE 2031’ vision.