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Hai-O Enterprise Berhad from Malaysia is holding an opening ceremony for its booth at an exhibition hall in Yinchuan, capital city of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwest China, September 27, 2010. Commodity fairs and exhibitions are part of the five-day event held in Yinchuan (LI YUZHU) |
The first annual China-Arab States Economic and Trade Forum held in Yinchuan, capital city of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwest China, has been hailed by government officials, scholars and businesspeople as an important opportunity to boost trade between China and the Arab world.
"The forum is expected to promote two-way investment and trade between China and Arab countries," said Geng Wei, an official from the Commerce Department in north China's Jilin Province.
"Jilin has seldom been in touch with Ningxia prior to this big event. I came here to see if there are business opportunities," he said.
"The forum will serve as a bridge linking China and Arab countries, which will encourage more businesspeople on both sides to visit each other for the sake of their own businesses," said Tarek Tabbaa, member of the Board of Directors of the Jordan Chamber of Commerce and General Manager of Al-Tewfik Automobile & Equipment Co. in Jordan. He, too, wanted to seek business opportunities in Ningxia.
In recent years, great achievements have been made in business cooperation between China and Arab countries. Bilateral trade volume rose to $107.4 billion in 2009 from $36.4 billion in 2004, according to the Ningxia Government. Direct investment on both sides rose from $1.1 billion in 2004 to $5.5 billion in 2009.
"It is rare for China to launch such a large program in the hinterland like Ningxia to open up to Arab countries, so this kind of program has great potential for future cooperation between China and Arab countries," said Liu Tianming, deputy head of the Ningxia Academy of Social Sciences.
"China and Arab countries have long been friendly in history. Home to 10 percent of China's 20 million Muslims, Ningxia has its own specialties and advantages to expand trade and economic cooperation with the world's Muslim community," Liu said.
The China-Arab States Economic and Trade Forum, which runs from September 26 to 30, was approved by the State Council and is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and the Ningxia Government. It is a large-scale, high-level international conference that combines summit forums, product exhibitions, economic and trade communication, and investment and financing.
In his address to the forum, Minister of Commerce Chen Deming encouraged the two sides to increase bilateral trade to more than $200 billion in the next three to five years.
Brief Introduction to Ningxia
Ningxia, located in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, has a total population of 6.3 million, 36 percent of whom are Hui people. Covering an area of 66,400 square km, Ningxia features rich land resources, convenient irrigation facilities and plenty of light and heat. It is one of China's 12 commodity grain production bases, ranks first in China in yearly per-capita power generation, and has unique tourist resources. Its annual economic growth has exceeded 10 percent in the past decade. |