Broad prospects for deepening UAE, China economic ties: DEC

Dubai / WAM

The Secretary General of Dubai Economic Council (DEC) Hani Al Hamli, said that the UAE, specifically Dubai, enjoys close economic relations with China, the second largest economy in the world, in various fields and it is the time to deepen these relationships and turn them into partnerships that involves strategic projects to be carried out by the public and private sectors.
Al Hamli also confirmed that the New Silk Road in one hand and the economic boom in Dubai nowadays, especially in light of the ongoing preparations for Expo 2020 on other hand, will collectively be large driving force of economic relations between the two parties that will benefit both economies.
This statement came after the return of the DEC delegation headed by Al Hamli from the People’s Republic of China. Meetings were held with senior officials in the capital city of Beijing and other Chinese cities. Several visits were made to Chinese public institutions, aimed to build bridges of cooperation to implement a number of future projects of common interest.
The DEC Secretary General said that this visit comes within the framework of a series of visits by the Council to China to establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with the decision-making circles, think tanks, research centers and academics to translate the vision of the UAE leadership to enhance the economic ties
between Dubai and China.
The first station of the DEC’s trip was Qingdao People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, where Hani Al Hamli met with Vice Mayor of Qingdao Mr. Liu Mingjun in the presence of a number of officials in the city.
Al Hamli reviewed the developments in trading relations between UAE and China, where he stated that the UAE is the second largest trading partner of China in the Middle East. Since the inception of diplomatic relations between the two countries, bilateral trade has grown significantly increased from $231 million (AED 832 million) in 1984 to about $55 billion (AED 198 billion) in 2015.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Al Hamli, signed with his counterpart Mr. Liu Mingjun a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a strategic partnership between the DEC and the city of Qingdao. The Memorandum covers many areas of economic and technical cooperation, including the exchange of advice and knowledge on ways to develop trade and investment ties between the two cities, as well as the role that the Council plays as a liaison between the business community in Qingdao with various agencies and institutions
operating in Dubai.
The second station was China Development Bank (CDB)’s headquarter in Beijing where Al Hamli met with Zhang Xuguang, Vice President of the bank. The meeting outlined the ways of activating the MoU signed by the two sides about two years, involving many areas of cooperation between the two sides, particularly with regard to the services offered by the bank for various parties in Dubai.
The DEC delegates also visited the School of Economics and Management of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

In his speech in front of PhD students in the presence of Omar Al Bitar, UAE Ambassador in Beijing, and faculty at the college, Hani highlighted the importance of science and research in economic development. He pointed to the particular attention paid by the leadership of UAE in science and its quest to ascend the corner of knowledge and technology, modern reinforced by a series of initiatives launched by the government, such as Dubai’s transformation into one of the most innovative city in the world, “Smart City” and “Smart Government”, 2016 as a year of reading, and others, stressing that the state strategy is to be a knowledge-based economy.
After the lecture, Al Hamli answered students’ questions about the latest developments in Dubai’s economy and future prospects, especially after winning the bid to host Dubai Expo 2020.
The DEC delegation also attended the 15th Annual AVCJ China Forum 2016 held in Beijing and organized by AVCJ journal. Al Hamli exchanged insights with the participants about several critical issues of strategic significance for world’s development.