Bilateral trade between Qatar and China jumped 45% to $8.45bn in 2012, Chinese Ambassador to Qatar Gao Youzhen said.
"China mainly imported energy products such as oil and gas from Qatar, while Qatar imported a large number of items from China such as electrical and construction materials, daily use materials, furniture and many more," said Gao in an interview with Gulf Times. Qatar's exports to China stood at $7. 2bn, while imports from China were valued at $1.2bn in 2012, he said.
Gao said China and Qatar have signed a number of agreements to promote trade and investment. "We have signed many inter-government and trade agreements to encourage and protect investment opportunities in both the countries. We have also signed agreements for co-operation in the aviation sector," he said.
"Qatar has already set up offices in Beijing and Shanghai to promote investment in energy and finance sector. Both the countries enjoy very close ties in trade relations, which are on the increase in recent years," he added.
Gao said two major Qatar projects Chinese firms are involved in are the Doha Port and the New Lusail City. "The new Lusail City as well as the Doha Port are some of the major construction activities of Chinese firms in Qatar. These are some prestigious projects of the country and we are happy that we are part of these constructions."
Many Chinese companies are involved in the development of Qatar's energy sources. "Some Chinese companies are working in the energy area, while some are developing the telecommunication infrastructure as well as in the development of the network for the Internet", Gao said.
The envoy said there are around 6,000 Chinese nationals working in Qatar.
© Gulf Times 2013
