The China-UAE Economic and Trade Digital Expo, co-hosted by China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the UAE Ministry of Economy, opened on July 15.

The exhibition lasted for 7 days and provided online negotiation opportunities and accurate matching services for enterprises through the CCPIT Exhibition Cloud Platform. 2,100 enterprises and more than 12,000 buyers from 11 countries including the UAE, Egypt and China participated in the exhibition. Exhibits cover smart cities, new energy vehicles and auto parts, building materials and tools, smart home and gifts, new agriculture and food, free trade zone, textile fashion and cultural innovation, tourism, education, medical products and other fields.

CCPIT President Gao Yan, vice President Zhang Shenfeng, vice President Chen Jian’an, China's ambassador to the UAE Ni Jian, minister of state for foreign trade at the UAE Ministry of Economy Thani Al Zeyoudi attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. About 300 representatives from Chinese and UAE governments, business associations, free trade zones, trade promotion agencies and enterprises attended the opening ceremony online.

“This expo is a practical demonstration of the new road to recovery that the UAE and China are on,” said Gao Yan, “At the helm of the Belt and Road Initiative and as a member of the World Trade Organisation, China has contributed more than 30 per cent to the world’s economy. This pandemic has only put a temporary stop to the world, and this is a start as the world readies itself once again for businesses to open.” Gao Yan also said in her speech that CCPIT strives to build a series of digital exhibitions on CCPIT Exhibition Cloud Platform. CCPIT will continue to work with other parties to build more new platforms for economic and trade cooperation and make contributions to jointly building the "Digital Silk Road" and bringing China-UAE economic and trade cooperation to a higher level.

At the opening ceremony, the CCPIT Exhibition Cloud Platform developed by China International Exhibition Group Corporation(CIEC) was officially launched. This exhibition is the first large-scale international digital exhibition held on this platform. The platform provides graphic, video, live broadcast, 3D model and other exhibition and display methods. It provides visitors and purchasers with multi-category guidance methods such as industry, exhibition area and application scene, and supports buyers and exhibitors to realize real-time interactive communication by means of graphic, audio and video. CIEC CEO He Cailong introduced that with many years of the exhibition form advanced exhibition concept, management experience, professional ability and customer resources, relying on the CCPIT extensive international network resources, the platform can provide high value-added supporting services in many aspects such as investment attraction, online drainage, trade negotiation, technical exchange, data analysis and so on.

CCPIT will use this exhibition platform to further promote the development of the fusion of online and offline exhibitions, better serve the exhibitors and professional buyers, improve effect of exhibitions and create brand exhibitions.

 The UAE is China’s most important trade partner in the Arab world and responsible for 28 per cent of total non-oil trade between China and the region. The Arab world’s second largest economy is also home to thousands of Chinese companies, including those based in free zones. The exhibition is a practical cooperation under the guidance of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and China-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation. It will provide a platform for the Chinese and UAE business communities to jointly cope with the impact of COVID-19 and carry out mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation.

This exhibition is organized by CIEC and the Executive Committee of the "Embrace China" program of the UAE. It is strongly supported by CCPIT and UAE Chamber of Commerce and Industry.