His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday began his working trip to China with a visit to the north-western city of Yinchuan, which has a large Muslim population.
While in Yinchuan, capital of China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, King Abdullah met with Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and attended the first China-Arab States Expo.
During the meeting, Zhengsheng presented a briefing on activities carried out in Yinchuan to enhance cooperation with Arab and Muslim countries.
Discussions also covered Jordanian-Chinese ties and means to enhance them in various fields, especially in industry, trade and investment. In this regard, His Majesty emphasised Jordan’s competitive advantages for foreign investors in terms of incentives and a stable business environment.
His Majesty also voiced Jordan’s keenness on enhancing cooperation and trade exchanges with China, calling on Chinese companies to take advantage of investment opportunities in the Kingdom and contribute to energy and water mega-projects.
The King said Jordan and China enjoy a deep-rooted friendship, indicating that Jordan by virtue of its geographic location has the ability to enhance China’s partnership with other Arab states.
His Majesty expressed admiration for the Chinese economic model, stressing the importance of utilising Chinese expertise to achieve development in the Kingdom’s governorates and upgrade the services sector.
The meeting was attended by Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh, His Majesty’s Office Director Imad Fakhoury, Minister of Industry and Trade Hatem Halawani and Jordan’s Ambassador to China Yahya Qaralleh.
High-ranking Chinese officials as well as China’s Ambassador to Amman Yue Xiaoyong were also present at the meeting.
The King also attended the inauguration of the Chinese-Arab exhibition, which kicked off on Sunday and runs through September 19 in Yinchuan.
Bahraini King Sheikh Hamad Ben Isa Al Khalifa, a number of ministers and businessmen representing 20 Arab and Islamic states also attended the opening ceremony.
His Majesty toured the exhibition and visited Jordan’s pavilion, which showcases a variety of Jordanian economic projects and products, and listened to a briefing by Jordanian businessmen on their role in promoting the Kingdom’s products worldwide.
The King also visited other Arab states’ pavilions in the exhibition, including those of the UAE and Kuwait as well as that of Yinchuan and other Chinese cities, and listened to briefings by representatives of Chinese firms on their latest technologies in energy and transportation.
On the sidelines of the event, His Majesty met with King Hamad for talks on bilateral ties and the latest regional developments.
The King also visited the historical Najiahu Mosque in Yinchuan and performed prayers there with the accompanying delegation.
The expo is jointly sponsored by China’s ministry of commerce, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the government of Ningxia. The earlier edition of the expo, known as China (Ningxia) International Investment and Trade Fair and the China-Arab States Economic and Trade Forum, has been held annually since 2010.
Ningxia is home to more than 10 per cent of China’s 20 million Muslims.