Chinese premier urges China, UAE enterprises to seize new cooperation opportunities

DUBAI -- Premier Li Qiang on Thursday called on enterprises from China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to seize new cooperation opportunities through the continued and steadfast mutual efforts of both countries.

Li, who is paying an official visit to the UAE, made the remarks here while addressing the UAE-China Business Forum.

Noting that China-UAE relations are at a historic juncture and economic and trade cooperation is facing a crucial point for upgrading, Li expressed hope that business sectors of both countries will seize the major trend and open up new opportunities for cooperation.

First, he called on enterprises from China and the UAE to seize the new opportunities of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. The two countries should base their cooperation on bilateral relations while keeping a global perspective to explore partnerships and expand markets, he said.

It is hoped that the two countries could deepen cooperation in areas such as connectivity, infrastructure development and financing to promote their deeper integration into global industrial and supply chains, he said.

Secondly, the premier called on China and the UAE to seize the new opportunities of the docking of each other's development strategies. The two countries should identify more areas of shared interests and opportunities for cooperation from the intersection of their strategic priorities, and deepen cooperation in trade, new energy, tourism, and other sectors, Li added.

Thirdly, he urged both sides to jointly seize the burgeoning opportunities in technological and industrial innovation, harness innovation as a driving force, and advance cooperation in cutting-edge fields such as advanced manufacturing, the digital economy, and artificial intelligence, and work together to seize future development opportunities.

More UAE companies are welcome to invest in China, Li said, expressing belief that with the joint efforts of entrepreneurs from both countries, bilateral economic and trade cooperation will continue to thrive, further promoting the development and prosperity of both countries.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the UAE, Li said, noting that since then, bilateral ties have matured, with economic and trade cooperation yielding fruitful results.

Behind this lies a profound inevitability, which is rooted in the long-standing trade traditions of the two countries, aligned development philosophies, and shared values, Li said, adding that China-UAE economic and trade exchanges have spanned over a millennium and are closely intertwined, with their friendship and trust continually deepening.

Both China and the UAE have actively embraced economic globalization, worked together to create miracles of development through opening-up, and promoted mutual benefit and win-win results through cooperation, he said.

The premier said that both China and the UAE belong to the Asian family, and the Asian people have a firm and persistent desire for peace, unity and cooperation and have made unremitting efforts to this end.

Noting that Asia has generally enjoyed peace, stability and rapid development in the past few decades, Li said that this common pursuit of value is even more valuable amidst global changes and turmoil, and thus should be cherished and upheld.

Over 200 representatives from the governments, chambers of commerce, and businesses of China and the UAE attended the forum.

UAE business representatives spoke highly of China's development dynamism and market potential, expressing their eagerness to increase investment in China under the framework of Belt and Road cooperation, and to strengthen collaboration in areas such as infrastructure, technological innovation and energy, so as to achieve mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.