China, UAE sign deals as President Xi visits Abu Dhabi

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates and China signed 13 agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoUs) to strengthen strategic partnerships and bilateral cooperation across various sectors.

Prior to economic agreements, the Chinese President Xi Jinping held extensive talks in Abu Dhabi that will strengthen political ties, the UAE official said. 

 Vice President of UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who is also ruler of Dubai, and Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan also met Chinese President on the second day of a three-day visit.“We have substantial political and economic agreement and a solid base of projects in energy and technology sectors and infrastructure,” Dubai´s ruler said in a tweet.

“More than that, (we have) a strong political will to start a larger phase of cooperation,” he added.China and the UAE already agreed oil and trade deals in the run-up to Xi´s visit. The two delegations signed more “memorandums of understanding and agreements” on Friday, Crown Prince Mohammed said on Twitter.

The agreements and MoUs included:

A strategic cooperation agreement between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and China National Petroleum Company signed. An agreement between the UAE and the Republic of China on mutual cooperation and administrative assistance in the customs issues. A framework agreement for cooperation between the Abu Dhabi Global Market and the Chinese-UAE Pilot Zone to create a platform for financial services and innovation on industrial capacity cooperation within the framework of the Belt and Road initiatives. A partnership and investment agreement in the world’s largest solar energy project. According to one MoU, the UAE and the People’s Republic of China were agreed on the construction of embassies and other buildings, as well as the establishment of cultural centres.

One agreement was also signed to advance energy cooperation between the UAE Ministry of Energy and Industry and China’s National Energy Commission. Both of the countries also agreed to enhance e-commerce ties as well as greater cooperation at the China International Import Expo.Also on Thursday, the UAE´s state-owned DP World announced an agreement between the two countries to build a new trade zone in Dubai.