His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, and Li Keqiang, Premier of the State Council of China, attended part of the activities of the UAE-China Business Forum, which concluded in Dubai yesterday. The forum was organised by Dubai Chambers, in cooperation with the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Electrical and Mechanical Products, and hosted by the UAE Ministry of Economy and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
The forum was organised on the sidelines of the official visit of the Chinese Premier to the UAE. The forum attracted more than 300 participants to discuss ways to enhance economic and trade relations and stimulate joint investments between business communities in both countries, coinciding with the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the UAE and China.
His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said in a post on his official account on the “X” platform yesterday: “In the presence of Li Keqiang, Premier of the Chinese State Council, and 300 officials, senior businessmen and investors, I witnessed today the closing of the UAE-China Business Forum in Dubai, and we thank the country’s guest for his speech during the forum.”
“Our relationship with China is witnessing increasing growth, as it is the UAE’s first trading partner. Today, we have more than 15,500 Chinese companies operating in the UAE markets, and we received 1.2 million Chinese tourists during 2023. In Dubai, the number of Chinese companies registered with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce reached about 5,500 companies, and we look forward to strengthening this economic relationship with China and with various countries, in a way that supports the achievement of all the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33),” he added.
His Highness was accompanied during his attendance at the forum by Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Economy, Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Chairman of Dubai Chambers, Abdul Aziz Abdullah Al Ghurair, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, Omar Sultan Al Olama, UAE Ambassador to China, Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, and a number of businessmen.
Li Qiang delivered a speech during the forum, in which he said, “The forum’s work builds on decades of prosperous Chinese-Emirati relations, and aims to look to the future and shape a prosperous tomorrow with the UAE, in line with the aspirations of the two friendly countries.”
He added, “There are promising prospects for the development of Chinese-Emirati relations in light of the development of the bilateral partnership at various levels, as the UAE-China Business Forum is an important platform for enhancing the economic, trade and investment partnership, by providing more opportunities for the business communities on both sides.”
He stressed that the two friendly countries have a strong desire to explore ways and means to ensure growth and cooperation covering a wide range of sectors that are in line with our common goals.
For his part, Bin Touq said in his speech before the forum that the Chinese business community is an important economic partner for the business sector in the country, noting that 15,500 Chinese companies operate in the UAE markets.
He added that more than 1.2 million Chinese tourists visited the UAE during 2023, a growth of 213%, noting that 44 weekly flights are organised between the two countries via the UAE national airline.
In his opening speech, Al Ghurair said that the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry has opened three foreign offices in China, given the growing importance of the Chinese market and its position as a strategic partner for the UAE. He explained that the total number of active Chinese companies registered as members of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce reached 5,480 companies by the end of last August, including 1,004 new companies that joined the Chamber’s membership during the first eight months of this year.
Dialogue sessions
The forum featured four panel discussions, with the participation of 20 speakers from officials and businessmen from the UAE and China, led by the Director General of Dubai Chamber, Mohammed Ali Rashid Lootah, who delivered the opening speech. The sessions addressed the role of sovereign investment funds in developing investments and joint projects, in addition to the importance of developing partnership frameworks in the energy sector, and ways to enhance mutual investment and trade opportunities, in addition to reviewing models of companies from Dubai that have succeeded in expanding their businesses and partnerships in China, and Chinese companies that have benefited from the business growth opportunities provided by the emirate.
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