By IINA
Beijing : Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, yesterday began a four-day visit to China during which a number of agreements will be signed. He held talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao on bilateral and economic relations and mutual investment between the two countries yesterday. The Chinese leader described Sheikh Mohammad as an “old friend” of the Chinese people, stressing the UAE Vice-President’s “great role” in developing the bilateral ties, according to WAM.
Sheikh Mohammad said: “It is a great honor for me to visit China for the second time and meet the Chinese leader as well as to closely get to know the great Chinese civilization.”
Sheikh Mohammad highlighted the volume of trade between the UAE and China, which has grown by an annual average of 40 percent to $20 billion in 2007. The UAE is China’s second-biggest trading partner in the Gulf after Saudi Arabia. Sheikh Mohammad also invited President Hu to visit the UAE. Later, Sheikh Mohammad and the accompanying delegation toured the Old City of Beijing. During the visit, which ends on Thursday, the UAE and China will sign memoranda of understanding and agreements on bilateral cooperation, education, a customs agreement to exchange information related to drug smuggling, another on security cooperation and in defense industries, officials said.
Today, Sheikh Mohammad is scheduled to visit Tsing-Hua University, where he will have a round-table discussion with 20 students on various issues. The students will be presented with copies of his book, My Vision, in the Chinese language. Sheikh Mohammad will also visit the Great Wall of China, and meet the Governor of Beijing and other local officials. Sheikh Mohammad will later leave for Shanghai where he will attend the joint economic forum between UAE and Chinese businessmen, which started on Sunday and ends today. Sheikh Mohammad will return to Beijing to meet Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao today.