China-Arab expo set to fuel international trade

BEIJING, Aug. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from China Daily

The Ningxia Hui autonomous region is ready for the seventh China-Arab States Expo, to be held in its capital city Yinchuan from Thursday to Sunday. The event now promotes not only cooperation between Ningxia and Arab countries but partnership with those involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

With the theme of "Innovation, Green Development and Prosperity", this year's expo will feature BRI-related trade and investment promotion activities, two institutional events, six major exhibition zones, eight subevents and other economic and trade networking activities.

Among BRI-related activities will be the Promotion Event on Overseas Industrial Parks and Infrastructure Investment and Construction in BRI Countries, the Multinational Economic and Trade Cooperation Meeting in Ningxia, and the China-Arab States Green and Low-Carbon Products Matchmaking and Exchange Event.

The United Arab Emirates is the guest country of honor, which features a UAE national pavilion and is set to host a promotion conference on China-UAE economic and trade cooperation along with some visits. The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region is invited as the theme province, with Xinjiang pavilion exhibition and display activities, a Xinjiang-Ningxia investment promotion and industrial cooperation matchmaking meeting, and inspection and observation tours.

The six major exhibition zones are for BRI-related countries, regional economic cooperation, central State-owned enterprises, clean energy, the digital economy and specialty commodities.

The digital economy exhibition zone comprises displays of artificial intelligence, gaming industries, smart meteorology and cross-border e-commerce, with the AI and gaming sector exhibition areas being new.

In the clean energy display area, the "green electricity application zone" is to be set up for the first time and many leading companies will bring cutting-edge technologies and solutions. State Grid Ningxia Electric Power will showcase a model for the local consumption of new energy power.

The cross-border e-commerce exhibition has invited four leading platforms in the field — Amazon, Alibaba.com, Wayfair and Noon — and 56 other companies. It will focus on public experience and offer online and offline participation channels.

The eight subevents will focus on matchmaking and exchange of China-Arab states business community, technology transfer and innovation cooperation, modern agriculture, water resources, health, China-Arab tour operators, high-quality meteorological development, and China-Arab standardization and intellectual property exchange.

Among other activities at the expo are the "Silk Road E-commerce" Cooperation and Innovation Development Conference, BRI gourmet culture display and sale, exhibition cooperation and resource matchmaking, and new product launch events.

The China-Arab States Expo is jointly hosted by the Ministry of Commerce, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Ningxia government. Its predecessor was the China (Ningxia) International Investment and Trade Fair and the China-Arab States Economic and Trade Forum, which was held annually from 2010 to 2012. Approved by the State Council, the forum was renamed the China-Arab States Expo in 2012.Since 2013, it has been held biennially.

The six sessions of the expo have attracted the participation of 112 countries and regions, more than 400 important Chinese and foreign political figures, and over 7,500 domestic and foreign enterprises.

In terms of mechanism building, the expo adheres to a distinctive model of organization and the mechanism of guest countries and theme provinces. It has invited six Arab countries — the UAE, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and Saudi Arabia — as national guests of honor, and six Chinese provincial-level regions as theme provinces.

The expo focuses on practical economic and trade cooperation, aligning with the development strategies of China and Arab countries, and sets up diverse activities mainly based on trade in goods, services and technology. It has continuously fostered cooperation in trade and investment, modern agriculture, science and technology, green energy, digital economy, and healthcare. It also showcased high-quality products and the latest technologies needed by China and Arab countries.

In terms of outcomes, a total of 1,616 trade and investment cooperation projects have been signed, covering key China-Arab cooperation in areas such as infrastructure construction, capacity cooperation, high technology, healthcare and modern agriculture.

Several China-Arab partnership results have been released, including a report on the development process of China-Arab economic and trade relations. Some China-Arab bilateral and multilateral cooperation institutions — such as the China-Arab States Technology Transfer Center, a China-Arab commercial mediation center and a China-Arab agricultural technology transfer center — have been established in Ningxia.

In recent years, China-Arab economic and trade cooperation has made significant achievements. In terms of bilateral trade, China has signed BRI cooperation documents with 22 Arab countries and the League of Arab States. China has maintained its position as the largest trading partner of Arab countries for several years. Products such as Saudi shrimp, Tunisian olive oil, Sudanese sesame and Egyptian oranges are increasingly being favored by Chinese consumers.

For two-way investment, Chinese enterprises have established several industry parks in countries like Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, implementing a range of productive projects in metal smelting, building materials manufacturing, cotton spinning and aquaculture, thus aiding in the economic diversification of Arab countries.

Meanwhile, Arab sovereign wealth funds and enterprises have invested in China's petrochemical, new energy and technology sectors, achieving mutual benefits.

Regarding infrastructure cooperation, Chinese companies have participated in engineering projects in Arab countries, expanding from traditional housing and road and bridge construction to broader fields such as high-speed rail, power stations, oil pipelines, communications and ports, with higher technological and equipment levels. Bilateral cooperation projects included the construction of an important highway in Algeria, a large stadium in Qatar and a photovoltaic power station in Saudi Arabia.

In emerging fields, China and Arab countries are exploring cooperation potential in cutting-edge areas such as e-commerce, cloud computing, AI, low-carbon development and financial technology. Chinese companies have established 5G commercial networks in Arab countries, enhancing local informatization levels. At the same time, Chinese e-commerce platforms are gradually entering markets in countries like Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, supporting the daily lives of Arab people.

SOURCE China Daily