UAE and China launch $10b investment fund
INITIATIVE WILL EXPLORE PROSPECTS ACROSS A RANGE OF ASSET CLASSES AND SECTORS
The UAE and China yesterday launched a $10 billion (Dh36.7 billion) Joint Strategic Investment Fund, and signed several bilateral agreements on the second day of the official visit here by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
Shaikh Mohammad held talks yesterday with Chinese President Xi Jinping on bilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries as well as on a number of regional and international issues of mutual interest.
The agreement on the investment fund comes three years after Shaikh Mohammad’s visit to China in 2012 when he initiated talks to set up the fund. The fund will look at investments across a range of asset classes and sectors.
Meanwhile, Mubadala Petroleum and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) signed an agreement to foster greater cooperation between the two companies in the oil and gas exploration and production sectors. The two countries’ central banks inked a deal “for the purpose of purchasing, selling, repurchasing and reselling of the Emirati dirham against the Chinese yuan and vice versa.
A number of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were also signed across diverse domains including space research and development, environmental sustainability, higher education, metrology, diplomatic training and currency exchange.
During his talks with Chinese Vice-President Li Yuanchao, Shaikh Mohammad said the UAE, with its strategic location, will help develop the stature of China to become an international trade hub that connects the East and West, as a result of its attractive environment for investment and free trade, stressing that the UAE takes note of China’s “One Belt, One Road,” a strategy which offers unprecedented opportunities to enhance economic development across the Middle East.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, yesterday held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping over bilateral relations and cooperation between both countries as well as a number of regional and international issues of mutual interest.
The Chinese President welcomed Shaikh Mohammad and his delegation and expressed his happiness at meeting him, hoping that the visit would help strengthen the ties of friendship and cooperation between the two nations.
He praised the UAE leadership’s keenness to take bilateral relations and cooperation to greater heights, and said that the UAE is the first Arab country to establish a strategic partnership with China.
The Chinese leader voiced his confidence that Shaikh Mohammad’s visit would give a boost to bilateral cooperation and contribute to developing it in the best interests of the two friendly peoples.
Shaikh Mohammad highlighted the UAE’s keenness to open new avenues of investment with China, and that there are still promising opportunities lying ahead.
“We both share high ambitions to restore the Silk Road, which established historical relations between the Arab region and China — and hence restoring it will extend new bridged of communication and boost the strategic relations,” Shaikh Mohammad said. He underlined the importance of China’s vital role in supporting the region in countering various challenges, notably terrorism.
The two leaders called for the need to continue international cooperation in the fight against terrorism and unifying efforts to combating terrorist organisations and radical groups.
Dr Amal Al Qubaisi, Speaker of the Federal National Council, Lt General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, and Shaikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court were present.
Shaikh Mohammad, also held discussions with Li Yuanchao, Vice-President of China yesterday. They discussed avenues of bilateral cooperation and ways to bolster them in the mutual interests of both the nations.