Investopia hosts China-Arab summit to boost economic cooperation, explore new opportunities

Under the framework of Investopia 2025, the new session of the China-Arab Entrepreneurs Summit, themed "Seizing New Opportunities," was successfully held. His Excellency Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Chairman of Investopia, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Co-Chairman of the Sino-French Entrepreneurs Association and former Prime Minister of France, and Zhao Liang, Chargé d'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in the UAE, attended the summit.

The summit brought together over 400 leaders, policymakers, and entrepreneurs from the Arab world and China, and invited 18 speakers to participate in multiple sessions. The summit aimed to further strengthen economic cooperation between China and the Arab countries and jointly explore new development opportunities.

In his opening remarks, Al Marri emphasized that the summit marks a new chapter in the economic relations between Arab countries and China. He pointed out that the cooperative relationship between the two sides has maintained a steady momentum of development in the past period, and the UAE is committed to promoting this strategic partnership to a higher level and achieving common prosperity.

The UAE maintains strong economic and trade relations with China. China is the UAE's largest trading partner, while the UAE is China's largest partner in the Middle East and North Africa region. Currently, approximately 15,500 Chinese companies operate in the UAE market.

Al Marri stated, "We believe that a shared vision and strategy in expanding emerging economic sectors will enhance the future of economic and investment relations." He also emphasized that the UAE market has successfully attracted a large amount of Chinese investment, with Chinese companies investing over $6 billion in various fields such as retail, financial services, real estate, and construction, thanks to the UAE's competitive business environment, including long-term residency programs, 100% foreign ownership, and simplified business licensing procedures. These initiatives consolidate the UAE's position as a leading business and investment destination, in line with the "We the UAE 2031" goals.

He further explained that the UAE supports the "Belt and Road" initiative to promote common prosperity and economic development. The initiative contributes to trade development, increases investment flows, and expands economic partnerships that benefit both the Arab world and China.

Al Marri called for attention to be paid to the use of modern technologies, improving the entrepreneurial environment, and transforming global economic challenges into opportunities by strengthening the resilience of regional economies. He believes that "the China-Arab Entrepreneurs Summit is an important platform for strengthening economic and investment partnerships between the Arab world and China, providing important opportunities to explore new prospects in new economic fields, including technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship, thereby contributing to sustainable development and common prosperity."

Jean-Pierre Raffarin added, "We believe that the Middle East region has tremendous economic growth potential in the next decade, and the UAE is an ideal hub for Chinese companies to establish a local presence, connecting leading business, public policy, and community leaders in the region and around the world."

William Wang, Chief Representative of the Sino-French Entrepreneurs Association (SIEF) for the Middle East and Africa, said, "Over the past decade, we have helped more than 800 Chinese business and public policy leaders gain first-hand experience of the UAE business environment. This has enabled them to explore investment and cooperation opportunities in the country. In addition, we have played a key role in facilitating their expansion into new markets, leveraging the UAE's openness and strategic position as a hub connecting regional and global markets."

The summit also hosted a high-level dialogue session entitled "Innovative Financing and Growth," which included a China-Arab-US dialogue on financial institutions promoting new economic and industrial development through international cooperation. Speakers discussed the critical role of financial institutions in accelerating industrial transformation and promoting innovation, emphasizing that cross-border financial cooperation is a key enabler for supporting start-ups and providing entrepreneurs with the capital needed to develop projects.

During the summit, SIEF announced the signing of six new strategic partnerships with leading institutions in the presence of Al Marri and Raffarin. The new partners include Investopia, the Ministerial Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Abu Dhabi Global Market Academy, Abu Dhabi School of Management, Hub 71, Saal, and WeCarbon.