Chinese Fair in Sharjah set to boost trade ties

Reflecting the success of the show, more than 310,000 visitors, including 127,000 traders, from 67 countries and regions have visited the exhibition and made procurements in its past seven editions, taking the total trade volume to $2.687bn.

More than 8,000 exhibitors from nearly 3,800 enterprises of Chinese provinces and municipalities took part in the past exhibitions. This was announced at a press conference that was organised to launch the eighth edition of the Chinese Commodities Fair Sharjah at Expo Centre Sharjah.

The press conference was attended by Mr. Patrick Zheng Shuo, Chinamex General Manager, Mr. Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, Director-General, Expo Centre Sharjah, and Mr. Fasahat Ali Khan, Advisor to the Chairman and Board of Directors, Expo Centre Sharjah.

The CCFS, the region's largest trade platform for high-quality Chinese products and services, will be held at Expo Centre Sharjah from December 13 to 16, 2009, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Bin Sultan Al Qassimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah.

"The show has come at a time when several measures are taken to strengthen the trade and bilateral relations between the UAE and China. Frequent high-level visits and several agreements signed to promote trade and co-operations stand testimony to these strengthening relations,"

said Mr Midfa.

The UAE and China recently signed five agreements to enhance economic, political, military, technical and technological co-operation between the nations.

The agreements were signed in the presence of General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Chinese President Hu Jintao, during Sheikh Mohammed's visit to China in August this year.

They also held talks on boosting co-operation between the two countries on renewable energy and mutual investment as well as exchange of technical expertise in military and petrochemical industries.

"Last month, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade set up a trade representation office in China in line with the strategy of the ministry to safeguard the UAE's trade interests and increase foreign direct investment, as well as enhancing trade and economic ties between the UAE and China," said Mr Midfa.

October also saw the Sharjah Government and Chinese province of Zhejiang signing a twinning agreement to promote economic, tourism and cultural co-operation between the two sides.

In September, the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed a memorandum of co-operation with China Foreign Trade Centre to enhance co-operation between their businesses communities.

"Trade between the UAE and China is on the rise. The UAE is China's second largest trade partner among the GCC countries. The Chinese Commodities Fair Sharjah will give an impetus to trade movements between the countries," said Mr Khan.

Trade between the UAE and China rose 40.5% to $28bn last year. More than 2,000 Chinese companies and 200,000 Chinese are in the UAE.

"CCFS is one of the most eagerly awaited trade fairs in the regional market. This is because of the huge advantage held by the Chinese products due to their cost-effectiveness and competitiveness in the market place," said Mr Khan.

"In view of the continuous evaluation and feedback from exhibitors and visitors, the fair has been repositioned to exclusively cater to the four focus areas. They include food & edible oil, light commercial vehicles & parts, electronics & IT products and lighting & décor products," added Mr Khan.

"The UAE, with its geographic advantages and convenient transportation facilities, is major economic and trade centre in the Middle East with substantial influence in the neighbouring markets. China Machinery and Electronic Products Exhibition Centre (Chinamex) and the Chinese Commodities Fair Sharjah have become China's best brands in the UAE, and a testimony of successful bilateral co-operation and mutually beneficial achievements for both the UAE and China," said Mr. Patrick Zheng Shuo.

For the upcoming edition, "The Chinese Commodities Fair Sharjah will feature nearly 500 companies from 30 Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities with about 600 stalls and almost 2,000 exhibitors. Several well-known Chinese establishments such as Nanjing YinHe Long Wing Ship Incorporation, Wuhan Xiaolong Auto-tech Co, ChongQing TieMa Industries Corporation, Xinjiang Tianshan Elevator Manufacturing Co, and many other large corporations will take part in the show," said Shuo.

A key attraction at the stall of Nanjing YinHe Long Wing Ship Incorporation of Jiangsu Province will be its wing-in-ground wing boat. The manufacturing of these boats involve advanced level of production techniques and processes. They have already seen a large amount of orders from Africa, and will be a key exhibit at CCFS.

The show will display vehicles & parts, hardware & tools, machine tools & parts, household electrical appliances, electronic products, foodstuff, medicines & health products, garments, household textile, commodities, kitchen utensils, lights & decoration products, building materials decoration materials and household furniture.

The CCFS will be jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, and the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and organised by Chinamex and Expo Centre Sharjah.