On December 11, MOFCOM held “Invest in China” Middle East Special Promotion and China Industry-Middle East Capital Connectivity Event in Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE. Ling Ji, Vice Minister of Commerce and Deputy China International Trade Representative, and Zhang Yiming, Chinese Ambassador to the UAE, attended and addressed the event. Zhao Haiying, Executive Vice President of China Investment Corporation, Zhang Xiaodong, Vice President of Bank of China, and relevant heads of the Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Investment of the UAE attended the event. 40 Chinese enterprises from new energy, advanced manufacturing, biomedicine, information technology and other fields consulted and paired up with more than 70 sovereign wealth funds and investment institutions in the Middle East, and some of the companies conducted on-site roadshows.

Ling Ji said that the purpose of holding this “Invest in China” event is to implement the important consensus between the leaders of China and Arab countries and to promote the deepening of economic and trade cooperation between the two sides. At present, China is comprehensively promoting Chinese modernization with high-quality development, and developing new quality productive forces according to local conditions. Many good companies have popped up in emerging frontier areas with broad investment potential. Innovation is an important bond connecting the Chinese market and Middle East capital. China has been actively encouraging start-up investment and private equity investment, revising and improving the management measures for foreign investors’ strategic investment in listed companies, and supporting the development of science and technology companies. Middle East capital is welcome to seize China’s development opportunities and to deepen innovation cooperation with the Chinese industry.

Middle East sovereign wealth funds and investment institutions present said that the vast market, strong scientific and technological strength, efficient and reliable supply chains and abundant talent reserves make China an ideal destination for innovation investment, and therefore they are willing to invest in China and deepen their footprint in China.

Before the event, Ling Ji had small-scale in-depth exchanges with representatives of some Middle East sovereign wealth funds and investment institutions, and held talks with some Chinese business representatives.