UAE is China's gateway to Mena: official

 
A senior Chinese official has described the UAE as China's gateway to the Middle East and Africa and a favorite destination for Chinese investments and specialised trade shows.

He Guoqiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China, or CPC, Central Committee and Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC, made the remarks during a meeting with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, during which they discussed bilateral, regional and international matters of common concern.

Noting that the UAE is a friendly nation to China and hosts 200,000 Chinese people and around 3,000 companies, Guoqiang termed the Chinese-UAE relations as a model for bilateral and international relations based on mutual respect, trust and interests.

He expressed admiration of the economic and social progress made by the UAE thanks to an approach that promotes opening to all cultures to eventually achieve stability and political, economic, cultural and human ties with the rest of the world.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid welcomed Guoqiang's visit which he said embodies the willingness of the leaderships of both countries to open new two-way economic and investments channels.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Mohammed and He Guoqiang attended the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the UAE's Central Bank and China Banking Regulatory Commission on cooperation on financial and banking control and exchange of expertise and data.

Present at the meeting were Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Emirates Group and President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Dr Anwar Mohammed Gergash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Reem Al Hashemi, Minister of State, Lt General Dahi Khalfan, Chief of Dubai Police, other senior UAE officials and the Ambassador of China to the UAE Gao Yusheng and members of the visiting Chinese delegation led by Guoqiang.