Al Saleh briefs on economic policies aimed at enabling competitiveness DUBAI: Abdullah Ahmad Al Saleh, undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy in the UAE, met Zhang Xiangchen, China"s deputy international trade representative, on the sidelines of the economic forum in Dubai. The two talked about expanding joint investment opportunities in new economic sectors, trade, logistics, real estate, financial services, technology, and insurance, the Emirates News Agency reported. Al Saleh said that ties between the two countries were historically based on strategic partnership and cooperation, and that they had seen significant development over the last four decades in all fields, particularly in the economy and trade, which served development goals and promoted the growth and sustainability of both economies. He said: “The UAE is China’s first Arab and Gulf trade partner during 2021. China is also the UAE’s first trade partner, as the value of non-oil intra-trade between the two countries amounted to more than AED 264.2 billion ($72 billion) in 2022, achieving a growth of 18 percent compared to AED 223.8 billion in 2021. “The mutual investments between the two countries are witnessing continuous growth in various economic and commercial sectors, most notably real estate, logistical transportation, storage, financial services, insurance activities, manufacturing and information technology. “Bilateral investments between the UAE and China reached nearly AED 44 billion until early In 2021. “China is also the third-largest foreign investor in the UAE at the global level, with a balance of foreign direct investments that amounted to $9.3 billion until the beginning of 2021, and achieved a growth of 514.5 percent compared to the beginning of 2013.” Al Saleh briefed the Chinese side on the UAE’s economic policies, which are aimed at enabling and improving the competitiveness of the investment environment and its growth, such as providing incentives and supportive enablers to encourage the private sector to invest and expand in the country’s markets, amending the Commercial Companies Law to allow 100 percent foreign ownership, and supporting increased labor mobility and modernizing residency systems in the country.