China unveils country pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai

China has unveiled the design of its pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai, under the theme 'Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind - Innovation and Opportunity', with experts saying that the pavilion will be one of the largest at the event.
At 4,636sqm, the China Pavilion will symbolize hope and a bright future, and is designed to be a combination of Chinese and Western culture, with the Chinese culture as its core. It will vividly showcase China's profound culture and long standing history by artistically integrating Chinese elements with modern technologies. The design was unveiled at a conference in the presence of Ambassador Ni Jian, Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the UAE; Najeeb Mohammed Al-Ali, executive director, Dubai Expo 2020 Bureau; and Zhang Yi, deputy secretary general of the China Chamber of International Commerce.
Reflecting China's endeavors in practicing the 'Belt and Road' Initiative, the pavilion will mainly showcase the achievements made by China in science and information communication. It will also further advocate jointly practicing the Belt and Road Initiative and building a community with a shared future for mankind from four aspects of 'exploration & discovery', 'communication and connection', 'innovation & cooperation' and 'opportunity and future'.
There will be three main unique features of the China Pavilion at Expo 2020. The first is innovation in the theme; the pavilion concentrates its focus on innovation to promote China's development proposition and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The second is innovation in architecture design. During the design and construction of the China Pavilion, traditional Chinese elements, modern architecture concepts and techniques will be artistically combined to present China's spirits. Lastly, there is innovation in exhibition; the pavilion will showcase the innovative scientific results made by the country in such fields as information, science and transportation through unique and hi-tech exhibition means.
Experts have said that the UAE is set to play a big role in China's One Belt and One Road Project (OBOR), which is a $900 billion policy initiated by the Chinese government to build on ancient trade routes from China through central Asia by rail and to Africa and beyond by sea. The initiative covers 69 countries which make up 60 per cent of the world's population and 40 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP), according to a report released by Knight Frank.
Abdulla Al Saleh, undersecretary for Foreign Trade, UAE Ministry of Economy, recently said that trade between the UAE and China has been growing each year. "We anticipate trade activities to amount to $33 billion between the UAE and China. The UAE is an important trading partner for China," he said. China's FDI into the UAE totalled $9.1 billion by the end of 2017, mainly in oil and gas, infrastructure, finance, construction telecom, trade and other sectors. Bilateral trade between the two countries hit $53 billion in 2018, a 17 per cent increase on 2017, and is forecast to double over the next decade. HSBC's data revealed that nearly half of UAE businesses already doing business with China plan to grow sales there in the next three to five years. A further 10 per cent of UAE companies yet to enter the Chinese market will prioritise expansion in the country.
- rohma@khaleejtimes.com