China industrial products fair to open in UAE

More than 50 Chinese companies will take part in the Chinese Industrial Products Exhibition that will open in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, on March 7-9.

The Chinese Jiangsu Overseas Cooperation and Investment Company, or JOCIC, will be hosting the event, which will showcase a variety of products and services from Chinese companies, ranging from metals and advanced manufacturing to electric vehicles and heavy machinery, as well as renewables and construction and architecture services, to name a few.

It will also be an opportunity for the Emirati and other Gulf businesses in the region to get first dibs on the latest and best industrial products developed by participating Chinese companies. The exchanges are all part of the commercial and industrial opportunities that come in line with China's colossal infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative, launched in 2013.

In a press release, the JOCIC said the importance of the exhibition "springs out from building economic and commercial partnerships", enhancing the role of the UAE as a distribution center, and a "main springboard for the Chinese industrial products to the region's countries", as well as promoting trade growth, and supporting foreign direct investment and the rapid economic recovery of the Middle East region.

The event is part of the JOCIC's role and effort to develop and operate the Chinese-UAE Industrial Capacity Cooperation Demonstration Zone in support of Chinese investors and companies in the Gulf region markets since a land development lease pact, for a 50-year period, was signed between JOCIC and Abu Dhabi Ports in the Khalifa Port Free Trade Zone in July 2017.

The JOCIC said in its latest statement that it was "proud to cooperate with AD Ports Company", which has provided multiple initiatives and steps aimed at enhancing the competitive advantages for its traders "in view of the exceptional economic conditions", and has "assisted us to overcome the challenges and difficulties imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic".

In April 2019, the JOCIC obtained a commercial license from the Abu Dhabi Global Market, or ADGM, an international financial center in the UAE, where they joined efforts to support the BRI and the plans of Chinese companies to expand in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The license followed an agreement between ADGM and the industrial zone for the mutual economic and commercial cooperation between UAE and China – announced during a meeting of two countries' leaders in July 2018.