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The Ministry of Economy organized the UAE pavilion participating in the 21st session of the China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, which kicked off yesterday and will continue until September 28 in Nanning, the capital of Guangxi Province.
Abdullah Ahmed Al Saleh, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy and Head of the State Delegation, participated in the “Development of the High-Quality Pilot Free Trade Zone” conference held on the sidelines of the exhibition. He also held a bilateral meeting with Tian Lilan, Governor of Guangxi Province, and a number of officials and heads of its affiliated cities.
The two parties discussed areas of cooperation of common interest, most notably development projects and trade, in light of the UAE and Guangxi Province enjoying advanced and continuous bilateral relations, and the projects and understandings that bring them together in various economic fields.
Al Saleh stressed, during his opening speech at the China-ASEAN Expo, that the UAE’s participation as a special partner in this event, and as the first Gulf country to participate in this capacity, indicates the depth of UAE-China relations, which are witnessing continuous growth at all levels, especially economic and trade cooperation. The UAE also has strong relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
He pointed out that the exhibition represents a great and important opportunity to enhance cooperation between the UAE and ASEAN countries in all economic fields and sectors, especially in logistics projects, attracting investment, energy and clean energy.
He explained that the People’s Republic of China is the UAE’s first global trading partner, accounting for more than 11% of the country’s non-oil trade, while the value of the UAE’s trade with China amounted to $42 billion in the first half of 2024, a growth of 3% compared to the same period of the previous year, in addition to the total number of Chinese companies operating in the UAE markets reaching nearly 15,500 companies, operating in the country’s markets in a number of promising economic sectors.
He stated that the value of non-oil foreign trade between the UAE and ASEAN countries has recorded significant growth during the past period, reaching about $18 billion during the first half of 2024, with a growth rate of 5.3% and 19.2% compared to the same period in 2023 and 2022, respectively, as ASEAN countries account for 5% of the UAE’s non-oil trade.
The UAE has concluded two comprehensive economic partnership agreements that entered into force at the beginning of 2024 with two ASEAN member states, Indonesia and Cambodia, in addition to negotiations in advanced stages for economic partnership with Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.
Al Saleh said, during his meeting with Tian Lilan, Governor of Guangxi, which was held on the sidelines of the “Development of High-Quality Pilot Free Trade Zone” conference, that the economic and trade cooperation between the UAE and Guangxi has witnessed development in recent years, especially in investment, e-commerce, industry, technology and infrastructure, as the volume of Guangxi’s trade with the UAE amounted to about one billion dollars compared to 623 million dollars in 2022, with a growth rate exceeding 63%, and this ongoing cooperation includes a number of important economic and investment fields such as the automotive industry, building materials and food.
