The United Arab Emirates and the People’s Republic of China celebrate the 40th anniversary of the inauguration of diplomatic relations between the two friendly countries, with optimism that the relations will develop and continue to develop with the support of the leaders of the two countries, in a manner that meets their common interests and the aspirations of their people..
–History of relationships.
The inauguration of diplomatic relations between Abu Dhabi and Beijing dates back to the year 1984, when in April of the following year saw the opening of the Chinese embassy in Abu Dhabi, while China opened its consulate in Dubai in November 1988. , the embassy of the United Arab Emirates was opened in Beijing in March 1987. The consulate of the United Arab Emirates in Hong Kong in April 2000, the consulate of the United Arab Emirates in Shanghai in July 2009 and another in Guangzhou in June 2016..
The volume of bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding signed between the two countries, which amounts to more than 148 agreements and memoranda in various fields, reveals the breadth and depth of relations and partnership between the two countries..
–High-level meetings.
The last four decades have witnessed historic meetings that brought together the leaders of the two friendly countries, such as the late Chinese President Yang Changkun visiting the Emirates in December 1989, where he met with the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, “May God rest his soul”, while the founding leader, “May God rest his soul”, visited Thara, in May 1990, in China, leading a large official delegation, making it the first visit by a Gulf head of state to China..
In July 2018, His Excellency Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, visited the United Arab Emirates, during which the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership was announced..
–remarkable transition.
The visit of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, may God protect him, to China in July 2019 constituted a qualitative change in the relations between the two countries, which was reflected in the economic relations between the two countries, as the volume of non-oil trade between the two countries increased by 4 percent to reach US$80.5 billion in 2023, compared to US$77.3 billion in 2022, so that China continues to be the first partner of the UAE in their non-oil trade, accounting for 12 percent of the country’s non-oil trade..
The total investment flows from the UAE to China amounted to approximately US$11.9 billion between 2003 and 2023, concentrated in the sectors of communications, renewable energy, transportation and storage, hospitality and tourism, and rubber, while Chinese investment flows to the UAE amounted to US$7.7 billion during the same period, while the UAE’s imports from China accounted for 18 percent of the country’s total imports, placing it first among the UAE’s supplier countries..
–A promising partnership .
The Emirati-Chinese partnership relationship is considered promising and capable of further development and integration, which is emphasized by the Joint Economic, Commercial and Technical Committee between the two countries, which recommended, during its last meeting last February in Abu Dhabi, the importance of organizing joint tourism exhibitions and events that would make it possible to take advantage of the potential and components of the diversity of tourism in the two countries to attract more tourist delegations..
The tourism sector is one of the most important sectors in the common economic relations between the two countries, as the number of Chinese tourists increased to more than one million visitors last year 2023, while the number of monthly flights between the two countries reached more than one million visitors. more than 210 flights via the national airlines of the United Arab Emirates..
–Culture and education.
The cultural sector is one of the most important sectors of common growth, as both countries consider culture as a soft power that plays an important role in building bridges of cooperation and rapprochement between countries and peoples around the world, which is reflected in the volume of exchanges of student visits, delegations of cultural officials, media professionals and researchers between them, as well as the signing of numerous cultural agreements between the two countries..
The Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Center for the Study of Arabic Language and Islamic Studies, established in 1990 at the University of Islamic Studies in Beijing, has contributed to the dissemination of Arab culture in China. Cultural weeks, music festivals and events organized between the two countries. the two countries, and book fairs have also contributed to strengthening cultural relations between them and advancing them year after year..
The year 2019 saw the launch of the “Chinese Language Teaching in Two Hundred Schools” project in the UAE, which has so far attracted more than 71,000 students in 171 schools in various emirates across the country, embodying the great interest of Emirati students in learning the Chinese language as a bridge of cultural and human communication between the two countries..