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UAE, China lay solid foundation for future during meeting

UAE and China signed 13 agreements and MoUs with the aim to strengthen strategic partnerships and bilateral cooperation across various sectors.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, issued a series of tweets in Chinese on the recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"Today we held an extensive meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his accompanying delegation. We reached a consensus on multiple political and economic fronts, and we laid a solid foundation for future energy, technology and infrastructure projects. More importantly, we have a strong political will that will lead us towards greater cooperation."

During the meeting, the UAE signed several agreements and memoranda of understanding with China.

"I had accompanied the late founding father of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan, on his trip to China 28 years ago. And here we are today, leading the region as an exemplary strategic partner of China. Nearly 100 flights per week connect China with the UAE. We are also connected through trade with 444 cities."

"We are learning a lot from China's development experience. I read the Chinese President's book on governing and management. He discussed the role of the government in increasing its people's happiness, the importance of the people, as well as his belief in the power of technology, innovation and their role in future. We are similar to them in our style of management and philosophy. and they are the closest to us."

This followed the meeting held at the Presidential Palace just a few hours ago in Abu Dhabi, where Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, had hosted President Xi.

The Chinese President also received the 'Zayed Medal' from Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed in the presence of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.

The UAE leaders discussed the strengthening of bilateral ties as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest with the Chinese President.

Other cabinet ministers and dignitaries were also present at the ceremony.

The national anthems of both the UAE and China were played, and Xi inspected the Guard of Honour, accompanied by the Crown Prince.

After the ceremony, leaders of both the countries went for a closed-door ceremony along with high-level dignitaries from both sides.

Other ministers who were present included Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Suhail Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Industry, Reem Bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, and Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and Adnoc CEO among others.

A number of crucial agreements that will enhance UAE-China ties are expected to be signed between the two countries.

Xi arrived in Abu Dhabi on Thursday evening and was welcomed by the UAE's top leadership at his Presidential fight.

The Chinese premier's aircraft was escorted by UAE warplanes when it entered the country's airspace yesterday.

Xi's UAE visit - his first foreign visit after being re-elected in March - is considered to be of historic significance in further cementing the strong relations between UAE and China.

The Chinese President had earlier said that he was looking forward to working with the UAE leaders "to draw up a blueprint for China-UAE cooperation so as to unlock its full potentials and advance China-UAE relations at a higher level and build a China-UAE community of shared future in Belt and Road cooperation."

The state visit coincides with the UAE-China week that will be held from July 17 to 24 at the Manarat Al Saaadiyat, featuring a range of Chinese cultural activities including film screenings and art exhibitions.

Presidential flight

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed had welcomed the state guest on Thursday, expressed happiness at his visit and hoped that it would help establish a new phase of cooperation and joint action to meet the aspirations of the two countries and their friendly peoples.

The two sides exchanged cordial talks on the historically strong ties between the two countries which have witnessed continuous growth and development over the years.

Their Highnesses also highlighted the important political and economic role played by China regionally and internationally. ''The level of understanding, coordination and consultation achieved by China and the UAE has boosted security, peace and development in the region and beyond,'' they said.

For his part, the Chinese president expressed his delight at visiting the UAE, with whom China has had friendly relations and shares a common vision. Jinping wished the UAE further growth, progress and prosperity.

The high-profile state guest was received upon arrival by Dr Amal Abdullah Al Qubaisi, Speaker of Federal National Council (FNC); Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council; Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior; Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Adviser; Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs; Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Sheikh Khalid bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the department of Transport.

Other guests in attendance included Sheikh Khalifa bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Director of The Martyrs' Families' Affairs Office at the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court; Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and The Future; Ahmed Juma Al Za'abi, Minister of the Federal Supreme Council Affairs; Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Bowardi, Minister of State for Defence Affairs; Dr Sultan bin Ahmad Al Jaber, Minister of State; Zaki Nusseibeh, Minister of State; Ali bin Hammad Al Shamsi, Deputy Secretary-General of the Supreme National Security Council;Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority (EAA);Mohamed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Undersecretary of the Crown Prince Court of Abu Dhabi; Jaber Mohammed Ghanem Al Suwaidi, Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court; Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri, Ambassador of the UAE to the People's Republic of China; and Lieutenant General, Isa Saif bin Ablan Al Mazrouei, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces.

The accompanying Chinese delegation included: Ding Xuexiang, Member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCCPC), Member of the Secretariat of the CCCPC and Director of General Office of the CCCPC; Yang Jiechi, Member of the Political Bureau of the CCCPC and Director of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs; Wang Yi, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs (MFA); He Lifeng, Vice Chairman of CPPCC, Minister of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC); Zhong Shan, Minister of Commerce (MOFCOM); Ni Jian, Chinese Ambassador to UAE; Wang Xiaotao, Director of China International Development Cooperation Agency; Qin Gang, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director-General of Protocol Department, MFA; Chen Xiaodong, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Lv Luhua, Secretary to President XI Jinping, as well as other senior Chinese officials.

The UAE celebrated the arrival of the Chinese President in a special ceremony, with 12 F-16s and Mirage aircraft escorting his presidential plane after it entered the country's airspace. Abu Dhabi's sky was illuminated with fireworks to celebrate Jinping's arrival, and flags belonging to both countries marked the state visit.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said Jinping's visit to the UAE marked a new stage in the strategic partnership that had bound the two countries for decades, thanks to a solid foundation built on shared interest and mutual understanding and respect.

Speaking on the occasion, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said: "We are delighted to welcome President Xi Jinping to the UAE on this important visit, which we view as a basis for further prosperous cooperation between the two friendly countries. We appreciate the President's choosing to visit the UAE on his first foreign tour after his recent re-election for a new presidential term, which reflects the weight of our strategic partnership and underscores the depth of the ties between the two sides."

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid commended the strong economic relations and trade exchanges between the two countries. He said UAE's trade with China accounted for about a quarter of the total Chinese-Arab trade volume in 2017 which reached Dh170 billion. The Vice-President noted that more than one million Chinese visited the UAE during the past year alone. He added that economic cooperation had expanded to include many sectors such as oil, renewable energy, infrastructure and advanced technology, with the UAE-China partnerships valued at tens of billions of dirhams.

The Vice-President said: "We seek to establish cultural, humanitarian and people-to-people relations in addition to our strong economic and political relations."

Sheikh Mohammed praised the UAE and China's shared outlook on many regional and international issues, in light of the strategic relationship that the UAE has enjoyed with China for decades, being the first GCC country to establish ties with it. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid expressed his confidence that Jinping's historic visit to the UAE would provide strong impetus to relations between the two countries, taking them to even higher levels of coordination and cooperation.

For his part, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said that the cooperation between UAE and China is proceeding according to the highest levels. He said efforts are focusing on opening new horizons of coordination and integration, given that the two countries share a common vision that economic and social development is a solid foundation for deepening peace, security, stability, and prosperity as well as eliminating extremism and terrorism. His Highness said that both nations looked forward to long-term development and growth, in keeping with the culture of achievement and joint action that they believe is one of the key drivers for building a promising future for both peoples and countries.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed expressed his appreciation for Jinping's interest in the development of UAE-China relations and his choice of UAE as the first country to visit since his re-election as President. He said the UAE leadership, headed by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, shared the same interest in strengthening relations with China and transforming the existing strategic partnership into a comprehensive strategic partnership that promised steady growth of UAE-China relations.

Sheikh Mohamed said the most important feature of UAE-China relations was that it was not just limited to political and economic issues, but extends to cultural, social and educational aspects that build bridges of understanding and establish people-to-people links. This ensures that UAE-China relations are strong and diverse and continue to grow steadily.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed expressed his confidence that Jinping's visit would help transform UAE-China relations in every aspect, given that both countries were keen to expand and develop relations at all levels.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed had received the distinguished guest and his accompanying delegation at the Presidential Flight.

A video from the China Global Television Network (CGTN) showed UAE fighter jets escorting Xi's plane as soon as it entered UAE airspace.

China is the fourth largest visitor source market for Dubai, with tourist and business traveller arrivals at 401,000 between January 1 and May 31, 2018 - a growth of nine per cent over the same period in 2017.

UAE residents on Thursday morning woke up to a small surprise waiting for them on their mobile phones.

On Wednesday evening, a new network name was implemented to mark the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The name change is one of the many ways that the UAE is preparing for the visit. Popular landmarks in Dubai such as the Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab and the Dubai Frame were lit up in red to welcome the Chinese premier.