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Dubai: Enhancing the vital ties between the UAE and China will top the talks between His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and both Chinese President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao during the Vice-President's visit to China which starts this week.
Shaikh Mohammad will also discuss with the Chinese leaders political and economic issues of mutual concern, a senior official told Gulf News.
He said several agreements will be signed between the UAE and China during the visit, which has political and economic aspects.
Importance
This is the first visit to China by a UAE leader since the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan visited in 1990. Senior officials and a 50-member business delegation will accompany Shaikh Mohammad "to reflect the economic importance of the visit", the official said.
He said China is an economic powerhouse, and the country will grow to be the second largest economy in the world within the next few years. With an annual growth rate of nearly 10 per cent, China is currently seen as the fastest growing economy globally, he said.
"Cementing ties with China is in the best interests of the UAE, which can become an important centre to re-export Chinese products to the region," the official stressed. "This is why China will always be an important economic partner to the UAE."
Trade partner
In an interview with Gulf News, Chinese Ambassador to the UAE Gao Yusheng said bilateral trade between the UAE and China has grown by an impressive annual average of 40 per cent from $4 billion (Dh14.68 billion) in 2003 to $20 billion (Dh73.4 billion) in 2007.
"China exported $17 billion (Dh62.39 billion) worth of goods to the UAE in 2007, ranking the country as our most important trading partner in the region, whereas 70 per cent of these exports were re-exported to countries in the GCC, Africa and even Europe, which reveals the growing importance of the UAE as the region's trading hub," the ambassador said.
There are about 200,000 Chinese citizens living and working here, he noted.
- With inputs from Ahmad Elewa, Staff Reporter
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