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Non-oil intra-trade between China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) rose 18 percent to exceed 264.2 billion UAE dirhams ($72 billion) in 2022, compared to AED 223.8 billion in 2021, said Abdullah Ahmad Al Saleh, Under-Secretary of the UAE Ministry of Economy.
Mutual investments between the two countries are witnessing continuous growth in various economic and commercial sectors, primarily real estate, logistical transportation, storage, financial services, insurance activities, manufacturing and information technology, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.
China is the third-largest foreign investor in the UAE at the global level, with a balance of foreign direct investments (FDI) amounting to $9.3 billion until the beginning of 2021, growing 514.5 percent since the beginning of 2013, Al Saleh added.
The UAE official held discussions with Zhang Xiangchen, Deputy International Trade Representative for China, on the sidelines of the recently held UAE-China Economic Forum in Dubai.
In February, the Green Finance & Development Centre of the Fanhai International School of Finance at Fudan University, Shanghai, reported that Arab and Middle Eastern countries are likely to expand their share of Chinese engagement as a broader recovery of Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI) investments and construction contracts appears possible in 2023.
(Writing by P Deol; Editing by Anoop Menon)
