With the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, China and the UAE have further deepened their cooperation. In 2015, the UAE became a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Standing at an intersection of the B&R, the UAE is China's natural partner in co-building the Belt and Road. In recent years, the UAE has expressed its support to the initiative. For consecutive years, the UAE has been among the Arab countries China's second largest trading partner and the largest export market, while China has been the UAE's largest trading partner. We have seen a series of exciting highlights in bilateral cooperation in energy, finance, production capacity, hi-tech, and other fields.
Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China
According to data of the National Bureau of Statistics of China, in 2014-2018, the total trade volume between China and the UAE stood at nearly 230 billion U.S. dollars. In 2014-2016, the bilateral trade volume registered around 143.4 billion U.S. dollars; for three consecutive years, China topped the UAE's major trading partners. The UAE's top 5 trading partners were China, India, the US, Saudi Arabia, and Germany. China mainly exported mechanical and electrical products, high-tech products, textile and light industrial products, and mainly imported liquefied petroleum gas, crude oil, refined oil, aluminum and aluminum products.
As the Belt and Road Initiative proceeds, China-UAE economic and trade ties are entering a period of transformation and upgrading. In 2014-2018, the bilateral trade volume dropped slightly because of global oil price decline, sluggish global economic growth, and other factors. Yet trade volume decline in a short period did not mean a decline in bilateral trade and economic cooperation since it can prompt both sides to optimize trade structure and adjust industrial structure.
In traditional advantageous fields, Harbin Electric Corporation and Silk Road Fund have participated in investment in the 4x600MW Hassyan clean coal power project in Dubai, the first clean coal power generation project in the Middle East; in February 2017, Jinko Solar and a Japanese enterprise jointly won the bid of Abu Dhabi's photovoltaic power generation project; China's Huawei has worked to establish partnership with the UAE businesses in terms of R&D, talent training, brand building, and market expansion in the third countries as well. As such, the foundation for sustainable development is being solidified.
In emerging fields of cooperation, China's top four commercial banks have established multiple branches in the UAE; they issued RMB- and USD-denominated bonds via local financial platforms, and offered financial support to Chinese and local enterprises; in November 2016, HNA Group and Mubadala, a sovereign investment company in Abu Dhabi, signed a memorandum of understanding on expanding investment cooperation; in the same month, Alibaba Cloud's data center in Dubai was put into operation; in February 2017, EHang's 184 autopilot aircraft was tested in Dubai.
During that period, changes in China-UAE trade were caused by the following factors: the first was the overall global environment; since the UAE has oil export as main income source, its purchasing capacity and export trade changed amid the fluctuations of global oil prices; the global oil price drop in 2014 caused the decline of China-UAE trade for some time. Second, under the new circumstances, the UAE is working to reform its economic structure and accelerate its diversification process; the country has launched "Vision 2021" and "UAE Centennial 2071" to implement green growth strategy; it will wean off the reliance on traditional oil industry, and shift economic priority to non-oil industries, which has affected China-UAE trade to some degree. The third was trade disputes among major economies, regional geopolitics, and other factors.
A single purchase
