Thursday, Oct 27, 2016

Shanghai: On the first day of a three-day event aimed at strengthening relations between Dubai and China in different areas, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed to boost trade and investments between Dubai and Shanghai, and another cooperation agreement between the two cities’ key commercial courts was also signed, in a move expected to boost trade ties. The MoU was signed between Dubai Investment Development Agency (Dubai FDI) and Invest Shanghai in the presence of several senior officials from UAE and China, including Abdullah Saleh, Under Secretary of the UAE Ministry of Economy for Foreign Trade and Industry Affairs, and Hanmin Zhou, Vice President, Shanghai Municipal People’s Political Consultative Conference.

Fahad Al Gergawi, CEO of Dubai FDI, said, “We look forward to working in partnership with Invest Shanghai to help facilitate mutually beneficial investments and take our levels of economic exchange and cultural understanding to new levels through opening more doors and creating more opportunities for Chinese companies to use Dubai as a platform for growth and expansion,” he added.

Share objectives

Later, the Shanghai High People’s Court, the foremost business court in the commercial and financial centre of mainland China, and Dubai’s DIFC Courts have agreed to work together to achieve shared strategic objectives, provide the basis for future judicial exchanges, and deliver legal excellence.

DIFC Courts are the first foreign commercial court to cooperate closely with the Shanghai High People’s Court.

“Given the strength of trade ties between the UAE and China, we have made forging links with our counterparts in the world’s second largest economy a strategic priority in recent years, particularly given Dubai’s position as an important node for China’s ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative,” DIFC Courts Chief Justice, Michael Hwang, said.

“We have now reached the stage where we can formalise these relationships and work together to make a significant contribution to the Dubai-China relationship in relation to judicial matters. The DIFC Courts and Shanghai High People’s Court are at the heart of business in our respective countries, with this agreement creating a valuable framework to support the increasing number of companies operating between the UAE and China.”

Currently, nearly 4,200 Chinese companies are working in the UAE with the majority of them in Dubai.

Largest Chinese hub

In his opening speech, Saleh pointed out that the Chinese community in the UAE is the largest Chinese hub in the Middle East, and said the UAE is very interested in increasing trade relations with China.

Shanghai is considered one of the most important cities in the world. The city’s trade size is amount to nearly 3.4 per cent of the global total trade, said Min Liu, Vice Chairwoman, Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce (SMCC) in her speech through a translator.

“UAE is not too far from the Chinese,” said Hanmin of the Shanghai Municipal People’s Political Consultative Conference in his opening speech, also through a translator. “UAE is in the heart of Chinese people,” he added.

“UAE Week in China”, is the second event of its kind after a similar event last year in Beijing. It is being sponsored by a number of governmental and private owned bodies and entities in Dubai in the field of trade, investments, and business.

“Dubai is not [only] attracting investments from around the world,” said Zhong Chen, General Manager, China Communication Constructions Company Limited, during a panel discussion. “Dubai is also joining hands with China to explore the rest of the world.”

Facbox: Factfile on Dubai/UAE-China ties

— Diplomatic relations were established between China and UAE in 1984.

— Today, China is Dubai’s number 1 trading partner since 2014, and the second largest trading partner of UAE since 2011.

— China’s investment in the UAE is close to $2.33 billion (Dh8.5 billion), according to Dubai Chamber

— More than 4,200 Chinese firms are operating in the UAE, up from 18 in 2005, while 1775 companies have Dubai Chamber membership.

— More than 200,000 Chinese expats live in the UAE. The majority live in Dubai, accounting for about 10 per cent of its population

— In 2015, Dubai welcomed 450,000 Chinese tourists, an increase of 29 per cent on the previous year.

— Dubai and 13 Chinese cities (Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Kunming, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Urumqi, Wuhan, Yinchuan and Zhengzhou, as well as Hong Kong and Taipei) are connected through more than 100 weekly flights

— Emirates airlines has 39 weekly flights to mainland China, serving Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Yichuan and Zhengzhou, as well as 28 to Hong Kong and seven to Taiwan.

— Emirates carried 1.3 million passengers between Dubai and China in 2015, connecting them to 150+ destinations, including 70+ in Africa, Europe and the Middle East

— DP World signed an agreement in 2016 to invest $1.9 billion in ports at Tianjin and Quanzhou and also has interests in Hong Kong, Qingdao and Yantai.

— Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) is home to more than 250 Chinese companies, including China National Petroleum Corporation, China National Building Material Group, Baosteel, SAIC Corporation and Haier. China is its No 1 trading partner, with 2015 trade valued at $12.6 billion.

By Jumana Al Tamimi Associate Editor

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