Over 300 public and private sector stakeholders from China and the UAE took part in the first Shenzhen Day Launch Ceremony and Products Show, a hybrid event held earlier today and streamed live in two locations – Dubai and Shenzhen.
Local media reports said the event, co-hosted by Dubai Chambers and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, aimed to build new bridges between public and private sector stakeholders in Dubai and Shenzhen.
It was joined by over 70 Shenzhen-based companies specializing in life and health, consumer electronics and intelligent security, that put more than 350 high-tech products on display.
Abdulla Al Basti, Secretary-General of Dubai Executive Council, said that trade between the two countries reached US$49 billion in 2020, while the value of Dubai-Shenzhen trade reached over US$1 billion, adding that he expects bilateral trade to grow in the coming years following announcements by Shenzhen companies last year to establish operations in the Dubai market.
ShenFeng Zhang, Chief Representative of Chinese Government to Expo 2020 Dubai, and Vice Chairman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, described Shenzhen and Dubai as “friendship cities” and noted that the Chinese city was leveraging Shenzhen Day as a platform to hold a series of economic, trade and cultural exchange activities.
Hamad Buamim, President and CEO of Dubai Chambers, said the strong participation in Shenzhen Day is a positive indicator of the growing interest on the part of government entities and businesses from Dubai and Shenzhen that are keen on exploring new avenues of economic cooperation.
A total of 120 bilateral business meetings were held during the event, he revealed, as part of the Dubai Chambers representative office in Shenzhen’s efforts to facilitate exchange and partnerships between the two business communities. He noted that since Dubai Chambers established its Shenzhen presence in 2019, the organization has supported a number of Chinese tech giants and unicorns to successfully invest in Dubai.
“As innovation leaders, Dubai and Shenzhen would benefit by expanding their cooperation and knowledge sharing in new areas and fields such as high-tech equipment manufacturing, research and development, green and low-carbon, biological medicine, digital economy and marine economy. Through these efforts, we hope to attract many more innovative Chinese companies to Dubai that can support the emirate’s vision and transition to a global smart city and knowledge-based economy,” Buamim added.