Belt and Road boosts China-UAE ties: ambassador

The Belt and Road Initiative has boosted cooperation between China and the United Arab Emirates, the UAE ambassador to China said.

Many activities are within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and China and the UAE have been cooperating in many fields, including business investment, cultural development and the establishment of shopping centers, said Ali Al Dhaheri, the UAE’s ambassador to China.

More than 300,000 Chinese citizens live in the UAE and over two million Chinese tourists are expected to visit in 2018, all benefiting from the current visa-free policy, the ambassador said.

The policy has been in place since Jan 16.

In the Middle East and North Africa region, the UAE attracts the most investment from China, said Calvin Fu, chief representative of the China Office of the Abu Dhabi Global Market, an international financial center based in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE.

“Under the Belt and Road Initiative, China has many infrastructure investment programs and the UAE needs world-class financial services and steady investment ... China and the UAE have a prosperous collaboration future,” Fu said.