Minister of Commerce and Industry HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim Al Thani headed Qatar’s delegation participating in the First Industry and Investment Cooperation Forum Between GCC and China, held in Xiamen, China between May 23 and May 24, under the slogan “Looking forward to the joint enhancement of high-quality development of China-GCC industry and investment cooperation”.

Prominent among those who attended the forum were Ding Xuexiang, the first vice premier of China, Their Excellencies Ministers of Commerce, Industry, and Investment of the GCC countries, Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, secretary general of the GCC, and representatives of GCC and China private sector’s companies, organisations, financial institutions, and research institutions.

The forum sought joint efforts to explore investment and cooperation opportunities across economic fields.

The minister of commerce and industry in his speech emphasised that the deep relations between GCC countries and China are strengthening the strategic partnerships between the two sides, and solidifying existing confidence and mutual interests.

He added that China-GCC’s magnificent relations and fruitful cooperation have been reflected in the volume of trade exchange between the two sides, which doubled between 2015-2022 to reach 140 percent growth and more than $316 billion in 2022. He then emphasised that we are heading to a new level of relations between GCC countries and China.

He stated that this forum aims to strengthen practical cooperation between the two sides to serve their joint interests, especially in priority sectors that will add value to our economies such as the energy and metal sector, finance, industry and logistic services, and other vital sectors.

He stated that Qatar and China have solid relations, and China is Qatar’s largest trade partner. The Qatari Chinese trade exchange volume increased in the first quarter of 2024 by 3.7 percent to reach $6.8 billion compared to $6.6 billion during the same period last year.

Their trade exchange volume has reached $23.7 billion in 2023. In his address, the minister touched upon the Third Development Strategy which aims to enhance economic diversification through various opportunities, initiatives, and incentives.

This strategy targets multiple sectors, including industry, logistics services, technology, and financial

services, among others.

During the industry and investment forum, four subforums were held. The first sub-forum focused on the sustainable development of energy and mining, the second on investment and cooperation in the digital economy, the third on financial cooperation, and the fourth on transportation and infrastructure.

At the end of the forum, their excellencies ministers announced the “ Xiamen “ initiative, which aims to solidify industrial and investment cooperation between GCC countries and China.