DUBAI, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The three-day Annual Investment Summit ended Thursday with the China-Arab Leadership Forum, where United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of Foreign Trade Sheikha Lubna Bint Khaled Al Qassimi said in her opening speech strong trade and economic relations between both sides were have just seen their debut.
Bilateral trade between the UAE and China reach 36 billion U.S. dollars last year, while trade between both countries soared by more than a third per year since the start of the new millennium.
"We are confident that this is just the beginning of a long journey and we invite China's political leadership and businessmen to work hard with us together that China-Arab relations will have centuries to come," Sheikha Lubna said.
The China-Arab Leadership Forum was also attended by Deputy Beijing Mayor Xia Zhanji, Chinese General Consul to Dubai Zhan Jingbao and Zhou Jue, Chairman of China-Arab Exchange Association.
At the sidelines of the forum, Chinese and Arab businessmen met in one-on-one meetings to explore new opportunities of expanding trade and economic ties.