BEIJING, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- The fifth China-Arab States Expo wrapped up in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on August 22. During this four-day event, Chinese and overseas guests attending the Expo both online and offline witnessed the contract signing of 277 projects and reached consensus on expanding cooperation in digital economy, clean energy and other emerging fields.
Photo taken on Aug. 19, 2021 shows the clean energy and new materials exhibition area of the fifth China-Arab States Expo in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Feng Kaihua)
-- Joint COVID-19 response, a model for cooperationDespite globally ravaging COVID-19 pandemic, the China-Arab States Expo was held as scheduled. On many occasions during the Expo, participants from China and the Arab states applauded the joint COVID-19 response of the two sides who pulled together for a shared future.According to the Ministry of Commerce, China-Arab trade volume reached 239.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. Two-way trade continued to expand in areas such as oil and gas, construction, manufacturing, logistics, electricity, and many other fields.
A number of major investment projects, such as the China-Egypt Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone and the UAE's Khalifa Port Container Terminal Two, have become landmark projects of the transformation and upgrading of the China-Arab economic and trade cooperation in the new era.Qian Keming, Vice Minister of Commerce, said in his video speech that since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, China and the Arab states have been supporting each other, which is a vivid reflection of the shared destiny of China and the Arab states. In the face of significant changes rarely seen in a hundred years, China and the Arab states need more than ever to join hands to strive forward for mutual development, tap commercial opportunities and deepen cooperation.-- "Cloud Expo" served as a platformMorocco, one of the guest countries of the Expo, erected a national pavilion with an area of over 300 square meters to showcase its aviation and aerospace, renewable energy and other areas through high-tech devices, such as ice LCD screen and arc-shaped HD LCD screen. In addition, Morocco held a trade and investment promotion event during the Expo.Despite the scale-down of the Expo due to the pandemic prevention and control requirements, it attracted over 1,000 enterprises from home and abroad to participate online and offline. Senior officials from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Tunisia, Kazakhstan, and other countries made video speeches for the Expo to attract more investment and trade.According to statistics, the Expo d in signing 277 project contracts, with a pledged investment and trade volume of 156.67 billion yuan. Among them, 199 investment projects with a volume of 153.92 billion yuan and 24 trade projects totaling 2.75 billion yuan covered various fields, such as electronic information, clean energy, new materials, green food, and capacity cooperation.-- Tapping potential for high-quality Belt & Road cooperationHighly consistent with the current needs of China and the Arab states, digital economy and clean energy have become key topics of the China-Arab States Expo and created new opportunities for further deepening bilateral cooperation.The UAE pointed out in its economic recovery plan published in 2020 that the government encourages investment in digital economy and prioritizes the development of 5G, artificial intelligence, and other pioneering technologies for the digital transformation and post-pandemic recovery.It is anticipated in a report regarding the development of economic and trade cooperation between China and Arab states released at the Expo that the Arab states will have higher requirements for information infrastructure. Since some Arab states are not able to build telecommunication networks on their own, Chinese engineering companies that are experienced in design and construction and capable of serving overseas customers will face enormous market opportunities.
Energy-rich countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia now face urgent tasks of promoting energy transformation and reducing their dependence on oil. In the context of global carbon neutrality, expanding new energy cooperation has become a new cooperation area for China and the Arab states.At present, some Chinese energy enterprises have engaged in the energy transformation of the Arab states. For example, Dubai 950MW CSP+PV power plant participated by Shanghai Electric is currently the world's largest photothermal and photovoltaic integrated power plant.
(Edited by Bao Nuomin with Xinhua Silk Road, baonuomin@xinhua.org)
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