ISTANBUL 

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is “committed” to building upon 40 years of deep-rooted cooperation with China, President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said Thursday.

Sheikh Mohammed made the comments during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Abu Dhabi, according to a brief statement on X.

The UAE ruler said he discussed “joint efforts to further enhance” the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

As the two nations mark 40 years of diplomatic ties, Sheikh Mohammed called for achieving “enduring growth, development, and prosperity for our peoples.”

Li is on a two-day official trip to the UAE.

In his comments, Li told the UAE president that China was “willing to further expand” the scale of bilateral trade with the Gulf nation.

The UAE is the largest export market for China in the Gulf and the volume of bilateral trade reached around $95 billion last year.

Li called for exploring cooperation with the UAE in new energy, electric vehicles, high-end manufacturing, biomedicine, digital economy and other fields and “jointly making a forward-looking layout of emerging industries and future industries, and cultivate more new economic growth points.”

The Chinese premier flew to Abu Dhabi from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, at the invitation of the UAE's Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Earlier today, Li was received by bin Rashid and the two sides held high-level talks.

The UAE vice-president expressed his hope that Li's visit “would further strengthen the bilateral relations between the two nations.”

Under Beijing's trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, China and the UAE have implemented several projects like enhancing Chinese-UAE industrial capabilities while projects like the second phase of the container terminal at Khalifa Port, and the Dubai Photovoltaic Thermal Power Plant are under progress.

China and the UAE are also cooperating in building the world's first artificial intelligence university in Abu Dhabi.,​​​​​​​Li will conclude his two-nation tour to the Gulf on Friday. He began his trip on Tuesday from Riyadh, where he said Saudi Arabia was a “priority” for China's Middle East diplomacy.