Over 10,000 Chinese products to be on display at CCFS 2005

The Fair, considered to be China's largest in the Middle East, is being 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.

The five-day solo country event, in its fourth edition this year, will host reputed Chinese companies from more than 30 provinces and municipalities of mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

Among the industries that will be represented at the Fair are machinery, engineering, electrical, light industry equipment, textile, and building material among others.

"The CCFS has had three very successful editions so far. The fact that the event's popularity in the region has been growing consistently is a reflection of the strong buoyancy that exists in the trade relations between China and the Middle East, particularly the UAE,"

said Mr. Ahmed Mohammed Al Midfa, Chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), at a media briefing on the forthcoming CCFS at Expo Centre Sharjah, on November 23, 2005.

"The CCFS acts as a major gateway for Chinese enterprises entering the lucrative Middle East market," he added.

Bilateral trade between China and the GCC is currently on a high. The total trade between the two countries between January- August 2005 was to the tune of USD $ 6.9 billion, up 35 per cent from the previous corresponding period.

During this period, China's exports to the UAE amounted to USD $ 5.5 billion, while imports, consisting of oil and oil products, were to the tune of USD $ 1.4 billion.

In 2004, China's total trade with the UAE amounted to USD $ 8.1 billion, out of which Chinese exports to the Emirate was USD $ 6.8 billion. Of this, 40 per cent comprised of electronics goods followed by textiles and other products.

Trade between China and other Arab countries too has been making substantial progress. In 2004, it amounted to USD $ 37 billion.

Within the GCC, the UAE has the strongest presence of Chinese companies. The UAE has 2,000 Chinese companies while Saudi Arabia has 20, and Kuwait and Oman has 10 each.

"The bilateral economic and trade relations between the GCC states, especially the UAE, and China has so far maintained an excellent momentum and it is being continually injected with new vitality," said Mr. Fasahat Ali Khan, Acting Director General, Expo Centre Sharjah.

"With China's demand for oil skyrocketing in the recent years, the ties are expected to further reach exponential heights. Till 1994, the Middle East region accounted for less than 40 percent of China's oil imports but since 1996, that proportion has risen to over half. Besides, the GCC offers a very lucrative market to Chinese goods and services," he added.

The GCC holds 45 percent of the world's oil reserves and supplies 20 percent of the global crude.

Mr. Khan also said that there was tremendous potential to further strengthen the current economic ties between the GCC region and China.

"Chinese companies engaged in information technology, water treatment, food processing, petrochemical and agricultural industries have a definite advantage when investing in the GCC region. Also, there is ample scope for regional companies to cooperate with their Chinese counterparts to tap the huge reconstruction market in Iraq," Mr. Khan said.

"The CCFS, which is China's most established and largest trade platform in the region, is aimed at providing Chinese enterprises the right channel to penetrate the Middle East market. It is also an opportunity for regional companies to explore the immense business potential that China today offers,"

he said.

The CCFS last year had generated business in excess of USD $ 336 million. Of this, the total value of the actual contract signed amounted to US $ 86.57 million whereas the amount attributed to intention for cooperation was in excess of US $ 249.7 million. Several important deals between companies from the Middle East and China were signed during the event.

CCFS 2005 will be open from 10 am to 1 pm for trade only and from 5 pm to 9 pm for both trade and public. Children below 16 years will not be allowed.