Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, meets Wen Jiabao, the premier of China, in Beijing.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, meets Wen Jiabao, the premier of China, in Beijing.

China ties strengthened further after visit from Crown Prince



BEIJING // The UAE and China have pledged to strengthen ties even further after an "extremely successful" three-day visit to Beijing by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

Sheikh Mohammed flew out of the Chinese capital yesterday evening after holding talks earlier in the day with the premier Wen Jiabao and the chief legislator Wu Bangguo.

"It was extremely successful," said Omar Al Bitar, the UAE Ambassador to China. "Both leaderships have agreed to move forward in every aspect - economically, culturally, educationally and in tourism.

"There is a very strong will. They are laying the foundations to create this kind of strategic partnership."

On Wednesday, Sheikh Mohammed reopened an Arabic teaching centre that had been refurbished with funds from his Court and renamed in honour of Sheikh Zayed, the founding President.

Sheikh Mohammed and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs, held talks that afternoon with Xi Jinping, the Chinese vice president who is expected to become president next year.

The visit came two months after Mr Wen visited the UAE and the countries announced they would develop a "strategic partnership".

Mr Xi said Mr Wen's visit to the UAE in January, when the Chinese premier gave the keynote address at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, began a new stage in relations between the two countries.

Perhaps the biggest boost in relations since Sheikh Mohammed's last visit to Beijing, in August 2009, has been in tourism.

Last year 194,000 Chinese tourists visited Dubai, says the Beijing office of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing.

That figure was more than double the total in 2008.

The increase partly stems from China granting the UAE "approved destination status" in 2009, making it easier for Chinese tourists to apply for visas and allowing tour companies to advertise trips to the Emirates.

Dubai hotels have responded to the influx by putting Chinese food on their menus and hiring Chinese-speaking staff.

Zhang Hanqin, a tourism analyst at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said the growth in travel was partly because Chinese people now want to explore further afield.

"Why Dubai? It's partly because it represents a very different culture and probably people are going there not only for shopping, but for investment opportunities," Ms Zhang said.

In an indication of how relations are growing in cultural terms, this month a Confucius Institute, which teaches Mandarin, opened on Zayed University's campus in Khalifa City in Abu Dhabi.

The countries have also enjoyed heavy growth in trade, which increased on average by more than a third each year over the past decade to reach about US$35 billion (Dh128.5bn) last year.

Non-oil trade between Abu Dhabi and China increased from Dh1.32bn in the first half of 2010 to Dh2.16bn in the same period last year.

And Chinese banks, such as the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world's largest bank by stock market value, have had their profits rapidly increase at their Middle East units in Dubai.

There are about 200,000 Chinese residents in the Emirates, many of whom are involved with the about 3,000 Chinese companies operating in the country.

Sheikh Mohammed arrived in Beijing from Seoul, where he had attended a nuclear-security summit and pledged $1m to upgrade International Atomic Energy Agency laboratories that track the origin of nuclear material.

Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO

Jersey 147 (20 overs) 

UAE 112 (19.2 overs)

Jersey win by 35 runs

UAE WARRIORS RESULTS

Featherweight

Azouz Anwar (EGY) beat Marcelo Pontes (BRA)

TKO round 2

Catchweight 90kg

Moustafa Rashid Nada (KSA) beat Imad Al Howayeck (LEB)

Split points decision

Welterweight

Gimbat Ismailov (RUS) beat Mohammed Al Khatib (JOR)

TKO round 1

Flyweight (women)

Lucie Bertaud (FRA) beat Kelig Pinson (BEL)

Unanimous points decision

Lightweight

Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) beat Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)

TKO round 1

Catchweight 100kg

Marc Vleiger (NED) beat Mohamed Ali (EGY)

Rear neck choke round 1

Featherweight

James Bishop (NZ) beat Mark Valerio (PHI)

TKO round 2

Welterweight

Abdelghani Saber (EGY) beat Gerson Carvalho (BRA)

TKO round 1

Middleweight

Bakhtiyar Abbasov (AZE) beat Igor Litoshik (BLR)

Unanimous points decision

Bantamweight

Fabio Mello (BRA) beat Mark Alcoba (PHI)

Unanimous points decision

Welterweight

Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Magomedsultan Magomedsultanov (RUS)

TKO round 1

Bantamweight

Trent Girdham (AUS) beat Jayson Margallo (PHI)

TKO round 3

Lightweight

Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) beat Roman Golovinov (UKR)

TKO round 1

Middleweight

Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Steve Kennedy (AUS)

Submission round 2

Lightweight

Dan Moret (USA) v Anton Kuivanen (FIN)

TKO round 2

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

  • Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
  • Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Eco%20Way%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20December%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ivan%20Kroshnyi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Electric%20vehicles%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Bootstrapped%20with%20undisclosed%20funding.%20Looking%20to%20raise%20funds%20from%20outside%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
The specs

  Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now

The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now

The UAE Today

The latest news and analysis from the Emirates

      By signing up, I agree to The National's privacy policy
      The UAE Today