The contract signing ceremony at the 2023 China (Guangxi) – UAE (Dubai) Investment and Trade Promotion Conference. [Photo/China News Service]

The 2023 China (Guangxi) – UAE (Dubai) Investment and Trade Promotion Conference took place in Dubai on March 2 local time, and was the first on-site economic and trade matchmaking event held by Guangxi in the UAE.

More than 100 representatives from UAE-based enterprises participated in the conference and Guangxi achieved trade cooperation intentions within the UAE's commodities, electronic information and food industries.

A total of 15 projects were signed during the conference with an overall contract volume of more than 1 billion yuan ($145 million). They cover the fields of equipment, spice exportation and building materials procurement.

The Department of Commerce of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region signed a memorandum of economic and trade cooperation with chambers of commerce in Dubai. The memorandum focuses on making the automobile industry a pilot sector for mutual cooperation in trade and investment. The sector will operate according to Guangxi's export-oriented industry advantages and Dubai's market demands.

Memorandums of cooperation were also signed by the Department of Commerce of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the Dubai branches of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Bank of China, and China Construction Bank. These financial institutions will provide financial support to Guangxi enterprises that will carry out trade and investment tasks in Dubai.

Su Jian, deputy director of the Department of Commerce of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, said that the region has been taking an active role in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. Su went on to state that the trade volume between Guangxi and the UAE expanded by 255.7 percent, and now stands at $654 million.

Su noted that the conference also featured selected enterprises from Guangxi that had advantageous production capacities and mature technologies to showcase. This was done to reach out to UAE markets and potential customers.