CHINESE WHISPERS

The UAE looks to grab a larger share of trade with China, outwitting its Gulf peers.

WITH AN ECONOMY WORTH $9 trillion and growth of 7.7 per cent in 2013, it is hard not to be bullish on China’s prospects.

The trade and investment links between this Asian giant and the GCC have also grown considerably thanks to its oil imports mainly supplied by the Gulf states.

There has been a 50-fold increase in China’s direct trade with the Middle East and Africa, according to research by British lender HSBC, with investment from Chinese corporates into the MENA region totalling $30 billion in 2013, up from $2.4 billion in 2005. About 22 per cent of Chinese firms’ global investment was directed towards the region.

Inter-regional trade in the future also looks promising with ambitious targets set by both countries.

In his opening address at the ChinaArab States Cooperation in June 2014, China’s president Xi Jinping said that the country is aiming to increase its trade volumes with the region of $240 billion in 2013 to $600 million in the coming decade. He also called upon the Arab states to resurrect the ancient Silk Road, a trade route connecting the Mediterrean with the East via the Gulf. The UAE too is looking to benefit from China’s surging economic growth. Trade between China and the UAE grew by 14 per cent year-onyear to $46 billion in 2013, according to the UAE’s Ministry of Economy. Further growth was seen in the first nine months of 2014 with trade rising a quarter to $35 billion. Officials say there is room to boost ties further.

“In terms of trade between two countries, there is the potential to double the number. I think we can do much better especially with the expansion of ports in Jebel Ali and Abu Dhabi,” Abdullah Al Saleh, undersecretary to the UAE’s Ministry of Economy said during the Boao Forum for Asia Financial Cooperation Conference in Dubai.

“The rail network that will connect the ports together will give the Chinese