Sheikh Mohammed meets Chinese president

LEADERS MEET: Sheikh Mohammed (L) and Hu Jintao (R) shake hands during a meeting on the Dubai ruler's state visit to China. (Getty Images)

Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum met with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Monday, kicking off a four-day state visit to the People's Republic.

Jintao welcomed Sheikh Mohammed, also vice president and prime minister of the UAE, hailing the visit a boost to friendship and cooperation between the two countries, state news agency Wam reported.

Sheikh Mohammed is "an old friend of the Chinese leadership and people", Jintao said, adding that the Dubai ruler had played a major role in enhancing bilateral ties, according to Wam.

Sheikh Mohammed said it was a great honour to be in Beijing and meet the Chinese president, and to gain first hand knowledge about the Chinese people.

The UAE leadership and people have great respect for the Chinese leadership and people, he said.

Sheikh Mohammed also highlighted the volume of trade between the UAE and China.

China was Dubai's second biggest trading partner in 2007 for the third year running, with non-oil trade increasing by 47% to reach 71.2 billion UAE dirhams ($19.4 billion), according to state-owned conglomerate Dubai World.

Dubai World said China was the biggest importer of goods into Dubai last year, worth 69.9 billion dirhams, while it was the emirate's 12th biggest export destination, worth 661.2 million dirhams.

Sheikh Mohammed presented official invitation to the Jintao to visit the UAE.

"I'm hereby presenting to your excellency this official invitation," Sheikh Mohammed said.

UAE business leaders are seeking $2 billion worth of new deals in China, with under performing companies being targeted for acquisition in the next six months, officials have told ArabianBusiness.com in Beijing.

There is also speculation that a special Dubai-China investment fund will be announced in the next few weeks, set up for invest into Chinese companies.

Print | Email | Discuss this article |

USER COMMENTS (0 COMMENTS)

POST A COMMENT

CLICK HERE TO POST A COMMENT

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Security Code *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.