China wants to celebrate with UAE export of last oil barrel: Chinese media

Abu Dhabi - Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed will embark on a state visit to China next week.

The UAE has found a partner in China in its green journey towards a post-oil era, an op-ed by Chinese TV channel CGTN said, as the UAE announced that His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, will embark on a state visit to China next week.
"They [the UAE] want to celebrate the export of the last barrel of oil and we want to be a partner in this celebration through our sustainable development projects based entirely on clean energy," CGTN, which is part of state-owned China Central Television, CCTV, said in an exclusive op-ed to WAM.
"We and the UAE have many future plans that we want to succeed and develop to reach our common goals in preserving the environment," Mouayad Al Zoubi, the TV channel's journalist who wrote the op-ed, added.
Of the UAE-China partnerships in several sectors, including the economy, one domain - environment - is very important, he said.
"We in China are trying hard to protect our planet from the threat of global warming, using clean energy alternatives. The UAE is advancing rapidly in this sector," he added.
The UAE is "the first partner in the region" in China's initiatives in sustainable development, as both nations strive for building a green future for the planet, Al Zoubi noted.
"As the largest business incubator in the Arab world," the UAE has the capacity to play a crucial role in many Chinese projects, especially 'Belt and Road initiative', he went on to say.
He noted that the UAE is China's largest partner in the Arab world, with volume of trade between the two countries accounted for 22 percent of the total trade with Arab nations.
Sheikh Mohamed's state visit is very important as updates on existing joint ventures and new projects of international and regional significance may be announced, which will further deepen the partnership between China and UAE, he added.
"Today, we have a real opportunity to build a new global economic order based on mutual benefit and our strategic partnership with the UAE has given us many hopes to reach this goal," Al Zoubi concluded.

• UAE