By Zhu Lei, Fang Kaiyan and Huan Xiang from People's Daily
This year’s China-Arab States Expo is now under intense preparation in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The upcoming business event is believed to light up bilateral cooperation as a new “name card”.
The China-Arab States Expo, now more influential among Arab countries, is a platform to promote high-level dialogue, strengthen policy communication, seek economic and trade collaboration, and advance cultural exchanges.
The wide-covering expo would add new elements every year, and a forum on high-speed trains will be included in this year’s agenda.
Since the expo was first held in Ningxia in 2010, some 876 agreements of various types have been signed with a total of 435.93 billion yuan ($63.2 billion) in contract value. The deals covered dozens of sectors like technology, finance, energy, agriculture, tourism, culture and education.
The 2016 expo was held in Cairo, Egypt, the first time the expo was held outside of China. Starting from 2016, the event will be hosted by Ningxia in singular years and the Arab countries in plural years.
In the 2015 expo, China and Arab nations, for the first time, agreed to co-build industrial parks. The projects including China-Omani Industrial Park Program and the ocean economy industrial park in Mauritania marked a breakthrough from zero.
Jordan, as an honorary guest of the expo, signed 18 cooperation agreements with a total of 19.8 billion yuan ($ 2.9 billion) in contract value and sold out an estimated 5 tonnes of exhibits.
Projects in key areas were signed at the 2015 expo as well. Intention of cooperation were reached in areas such as wind power technology, energy vehicles, nuclear power, dates pest control technology, water-saving irrigation equipment, intelligent management system of cultivation facilities, and solar desalination technology.
Ningxia is the largest Hui population habitation in China. Data at the end of 2015 showed that the more than 6.68 million Hui people living there account for 36 percent of local population.
Zhang Bawu, director of the development and reform commission of Ningxia, said the China-Arab States Expo and the Ningxia inland economic pilot zone are two “golden platforms” for Ningxia to open itself to world.
Pic：
Business men from China and Arab countries communicate with each other at the 2016 China-Arab States Expo held in Egypt. (Photo by Wang Yunsong from People's Daily)
The China-Arab States Expo, now more influential among Arab countries, is a platform to promote high-level dialogue, strengthen policy communication, seek economic and trade collaboration, and advance cultural exchanges.
The wide-covering expo would add new elements every year, and a forum on high-speed trains will be included in this year’s agenda.
Since the expo was first held in Ningxia in 2010, some 876 agreements of various types have been signed with a total of 435.93 billion yuan ($63.2 billion) in contract value. The deals covered dozens of sectors like technology, finance, energy, agriculture, tourism, culture and education.
The 2016 expo was held in Cairo, Egypt, the first time the expo was held outside of China. Starting from 2016, the event will be hosted by Ningxia in singular years and the Arab countries in plural years.
In the 2015 expo, China and Arab nations, for the first time, agreed to co-build industrial parks. The projects including China-Omani Industrial Park Program and the ocean economy industrial park in Mauritania marked a breakthrough from zero.
Jordan, as an honorary guest of the expo, signed 18 cooperation agreements with a total of 19.8 billion yuan ($ 2.9 billion) in contract value and sold out an estimated 5 tonnes of exhibits.
Projects in key areas were signed at the 2015 expo as well. Intention of cooperation were reached in areas such as wind power technology, energy vehicles, nuclear power, dates pest control technology, water-saving irrigation equipment, intelligent management system of cultivation facilities, and solar desalination technology.
Ningxia is the largest Hui population habitation in China. Data at the end of 2015 showed that the more than 6.68 million Hui people living there account for 36 percent of local population.
Zhang Bawu, director of the development and reform commission of Ningxia, said the China-Arab States Expo and the Ningxia inland economic pilot zone are two “golden platforms” for Ningxia to open itself to world.
Pic：
Business men from China and Arab countries communicate with each other at the 2016 China-Arab States Expo held in Egypt. (Photo by Wang Yunsong from People's Daily)