Mohammed bin Zayed Meets Chinese VP

His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, held talks here today with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping over mechanisms of bolstering existing ties of friendship as well as economic and trade cooperation between the two friendly counties. Sheikh Mohammed and his host Mr. Jinping also took stock of the latest developments of mutual concern in the Middle Eastern and the world. The session of talks was held at the People's Grand Hall in attendance of UAE Foreign Minister HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and members of delegation accompanying Sheikh Mohammed.

Chinese vice president said during talks that results of his visit to the UAE in 2009 had paved the way for broader joint cooperation and expressed his satisfaction at the pace of progress the UAE-China bonds were making. These relations, he said, were growing steadily, keeping pace with the tempo of developments of the era and more importantly serving fundamental interests of the two friendly countries and their peoples. For his part, the visiting Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces asserted the UAE's firm interest, under the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in taking bilateral relations to new heights in light of China 's heavy weight in the global politics and economy.

Sheikh Mohammed noted the momentous growth relations between the UAE and China had experienced recently thanks to the exchange of state visits by top Emirati and Chinese officials. He pointed out to the recent constructive state visit made by the Chinese premier to the UAE, which had opened up new avenues for joint action. '' Relations between the two countries have achieved diversity and prosperity in all political and economic domains and the two countries shared identical views on a host of regional and international issues, therefore underpinning international stability and peace. This requires regular open channel of consultation and coordination on bilateral bonds and deepening of political relations which are based on mutual trust and respect,''Sheikh Mohammed said, affirming the UAE's hope for further cooperation in trade and economy through optimum harness of integration between the two economies, scaling up of investment and forging of strategic long-term relationship.

The Chinese senior official said his country was resolve to push its distinguished bonds with the UAE forward. He also expressed the Chinese government's sincere desire to expand frameworks of joint cooperation to cover diverse sectors like energy, renewable energy, infrastructure, building and construction, banking, advanced industries, counter-terrorism and transnational crimes. The Chinese vice president stressed the importance of building a long-term strategic partnership capitalising on concrete foundations of common interests and mutual trust that would promote establishment of joint ventures, stimulate growth in trade exchange, and spur companies in both countries to launch more investment projects for the benefit of the two sides.

He considered the UAE as China's trade gateway to the region, thus becoming one of the most favourite destination for Chinese tourists. More than 200,000 Chinese citizens are working and living in the UAE. Again, Sheikh Mohammed welcomed efforts seeking to energise and expand economic and investment partnership into new sectors and to enhance strategic political relations for the best interest of the Emirati and Chinese peoples. In view of the current events in the Middle East and some parts of the world, Sheikh Mohammed underscored the vital role China is playing in the international scene for advancing peace efforts and supporting international legitimacy resolutions in the service of regional and international security, stability and peace. Later, the Chinese vice president hosted a dinner in honour of Sheikh Mohammed and his accompanying delegation.