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DUBAI / WAM
DMCC — the world’s flagship Free Zone and Government of Dubai Authority on commodities trade and enterprise — has signed two new strategic partnership agreements with Chinese authorities during visits to the cities of Hangzhou and Qingdao as part of its sixth Made for Trade Live roadshow of 2019.
DMCC signed a memoranda of understanding (MoU) with the Hangzhou China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), and the Department of Commerce of Shandong Province in Qingdao. The agreements commit the organisations to work together to support, strengthen and boost bilateral trade between the UAE and China, and attract foreign direct investment (FDI) to Dubai. Over 4,000 Chinese companies are already based in the UAE and 423 in DMCC, making DMCC home to around 10 percent of the Chinese companies in the UAE.
Around 400 business leaders and senior government officials attended the events and discussed the growth potential that Dubai and DMCC offer Chinese companies seeking to expand their global footprint. Both events received the official support of the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
“DMCC has successfully created a global hub for trade in the region, and offers a valuable gateway to Asia. As such, we are perfectly placed to support the Belt and Road Initiative by developing national initiatives and creating new trade flows between Dubai and China. We are already seeing an increase in the number of Chinese companies choosing to set up in Dubai, in addition to over 400 already registered with DMCC. We are confident that an upward growth trajectory, supported by these two new MOUs and other previously signed agreements, will continue in the years to come,†added Feryal Ahmadi, Chief Operating Officer, DMCC.
China is one of the UAE’s largest trading partners, with trade between the two countries expected to reach up to AED257 billion by 2020. China remains Dubai’s top trading partner with a market value reaching AED 139 billion in 2018. Just last month, Dubai FDI, the investment development agency of Dubai Economy, went on an investment mission to major cities in China as part of its strategic efforts to support the global infrastructure programme of the Belt and Road initiative. In April this year, China announced a AED 12.49 billion investment into shipping and food projects in Dubai.