UAE, China bilateral trade ties will continue to surge in coming years
Dubai’s free zones saw their total trade volumes in 2019 grew by 11% year-on-year with an estimated value of Dhs596 billion.
Inayat-ur-Rahman, Business Editor
The bilateral trade between UAE and China will continue to surge in the coming years as a result of the strong economic relations between the two countries, despite a temporary setback caused by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.This was stated by David Wang, Chairman, China Trade Week, during an exclusive interview with Gulf Today.
He mentioned that UAE is China’s most important trade partner in the Arab world and responsible for 28 per cent of total non-oil trade between China and the region. As the Arab world’s second largest economy, UAE is also home to thousands of Chinese companies, including those based in free zones.
“As per official records, Dubai’s free zones saw their total trade volumes in 2019 grew by 11 per cent year-on-year with an estimated value of Dhs596 billion, making up 43 per cent of Dubai’s total trade during the period with China maintaining its position as Dubai’s largest trading partner with a total trade volume exceeding Dhs107 billion.” Wang added.
“We expect hundreds of Chinese companies to exhibit at Expo 2020 but due to the COVID crisis and the current travel restrictions imposed by the China government, some of the companies will join and participate virtually through Hybrid scheme wherein visitors can interact with the exhibitors seamlessly during the show using the latest and most sophisticated communication technology.”
Regarding post-COVID era, Wang expressed his optimism that businesses will definitely pick up and drastically improve after the COVID 19 pandemic and when this crisis is over, companies and businessmen will slowly but surely recover their huge losses and will learn how to adapt and become stronger than ever to overcome any similar crisis that may happen in the future.
He disclosed that they used to organise 5-10 Roadshows in China ever year to promote the economic, culture and tourism cooperation between the Middle East, Africa and China.
“Last year, as our own way of fighting the pandemic, we developed a virtual exhibition and conference platform called Global Trade Week (GTW) which is aimed to rebuild and strengthen the connection between China and the region.”
“As of today, we have succeeded in organising over 120 virtual events and serviced over 8000 company in China and overseas.
Currently, there are very few travel restrictions in China and having a capable team in UAE and China, we are happy to host business roadshows for our clients.”
“The main concept behind China Trade Week is to assist Chinese enterprises explore and expand their business across the Middle East and Africa and to increase FDI trade between China and other nations.”
“CTW Portfolio is a series of successful B2B & B2G trade fair platforms across the region and since its inception, it has become one of the largest B2B platform and set benchmarks with highly-successful fairs held previously in the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, Morocco, Ghana & Nigeria.”
“CTW will be expanding the portfolio by taking its brand to new territories including Azerbaijan, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.” Wang concluded.
Meanwhile, DP World, UAE Region, recently hosted a webinar in partnership with the Chinese Business Council in the UAE to discuss business opportunities for Chinese companies in the MENA region under the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI).
In his opening speech Abdulla Bin Damithan, CEO & Managing Director, DP World – UAE Region and Jafza, highlighted how Dubai is a gateway for Chinese exporters. He also pointed out that to strengthen UAE-China trade, DP World in partnership with Zhejiang China Commodity City Group (CCC) recently launched the Yiwu Market as part of the first phase of Dubai Traders Market, located in the heart of Jafza. Dubai Traders Market will span approximately 800,000 m2, with Yiwu Market covering about 200,000 m2. The market will give traders and businesses from across the globe access to wholesale discounts with reduced supply chain costs and turnaround times by leveraging DP World’s logistical expertise.
Bin Damithan said: “Bilateral trade between the UAE and China has surged over the years and we have always been welcoming of Chinese companies from a wide range of sectors. As a result of various incentives and initiatives, we have seen increasing interest from Chinese companies wanting to invest in Dubai and strengthen their presence in Jebel Ali.” Indeed China is now not only the top country by trade value at Jafza, but it is also the fourth in terms of trade volume.
