The UAE and China signed the minutes of the 5th meeting of the Joint Economic Committee which concluded a round of talks in Abu Dhabi to further promote relations and find ways overcome barriers to achieving the goals set by bilateral agreements and MOUs.
The minutes was signed on Thursday by Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy Mohammed Ahmed Bin Abdul Aziz Al Shehhi and Vice Minister of Commerce of China Dr. Gao Hucheng who both led the talks.
Al Shehi expressed satisfaction at the outcome of the meetings which he said are true manifestation of keenness by the two countries to strengthen their economic, trade and investment partnership.
He said the UAE is working on increasing UAE industrial export to China adding that 5th round of talks are yet another major step towards strong bilateral relations between United Arab Emirates and China, adding that non-oil bilateral trade between the two countries reached $US13 billion in 2007, achieving a 44% increase over 2006.
UAE today, he noted, is China's second largest trade partner in the Gulf and the largest market for Chinese products in the entire Arab world.
For his part, Hucheng said the 5th round of talks has been a complete success and will give momentum to bilateral relations between the UAE and China.
Citing estimates by Chinese customs authorities, Hucheng said trade between the UAE and China reached $US21 billion during the first 9 months of 2008 and is projected to increase to $US25 billions by the end of the year.
He noted that 3000 Chinese companies and 30000 Chinese are operating and working in the UAE.
The UAE side welcomed the opening of a branch of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
The Chinese side also urged the UAE to approve the opening of a representative office of Bank of China in Dubai.
UAE officials who took part in the 5th round of talks conveyed to the Chinese officials requests by UAE banks to open the first Islamic bank in China, a request Chinese officials said they would refer to relevant authorities.
The two sides also agreed on the implementation of MOUs already signed by the UAE and China on commercial aviation, higher education and technical training. The UAE side also made a request for approval by Chinese authorities of licenses by UAE's Thuraya Telecommunications Company to operate in China. – Emirates News Agency, WAM
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