H E Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari (right), Minister of Commerce and Industry; and Qian Keming, China’s Vice-Minister of Commerce, signing minutes of the meeting.
DOHA: H E Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, Minister of Commerce and Industry said yesterday that Qatar’s partnership with China serves as a model for its foreign relations, marking more than three decades of bilateral cooperation. The Minister noted growing bilateral trade and investments reflects the strength of Qatari-Chinese economic relations. The two-way trade reached QR49.22bn in 2018, an increase of 27.08 percent compared to 2017. Today, China ranks as Qatar’s third-largest trading partner and accounts for 11.65 percent of its total trade volume, the Minister announced while co-chairing the second session of the Qatari-Chinese Joint Committee for Economic, Trade, and Technical cooperation in Doha with Qian Keming, China’s Vice-Minister of Commerce.
Speaking on the Chinese investments in Qatar, Minister Al Kuwari said over 265 Chinese companies and representative offices have established a presence in Qatar, including 244 joint Qatari-Chinese firms and 20 representative offices for Chinese firms, in addition to one fully owned Chinese company, and one company licensed by Qatar Financial Centre. These companies operate in several vital economic sectors, such as trade, contracting, construction, information technology, and engineering consultancy.
He said China represents an attractive destination for Qatari investments in the fields of technology, hospitality, tourism, real estate, retail, and financial services, among other vital industries.
Qatar and China are also bound by several memorandums of understanding that play a key role in strengthening bilateral ties. These include an agreement on the Promotion and Protection of Mutual Investments, and an Air Transport agreement, which paved the way for more than 38 passenger and cargo flights linking Doha to most major Chinese cities. These agreements enhance the prospects of strategic integration and provide a legal framework that will encourage the Qatari and Chinese private sectors to seek successful investment projects.
Minister Al Kuwari noted: “Today’s meeting comes amid mounting concerns voiced by international institutions over a 2019 global economic slowdown due to trade barriers, supply chain disruptions, and rising interest rates. This requires all parties to come together and join efforts to create new partnership opportunities, consolidate economic and investment alliances, and strengthen bilateral trade.” Inviting Chinese companies to take advantage of the Qatar’s investment-friendly environment, the Minister noted that Qatar ranked first among countries that achieved growth over the last 20 years, with an average annual growth rate of 10.5 percent. Citing World Bank numbers, he said Qatar’s economy is expected to grow by 2 percent in 2019 compared to 1.4 percent in 2018, and 3 percent on the medium term, driven by higher growth in the services and construction sectors as Qatar implements projects within the framework of its National Vision 2030 and in preparation for 2022 FIFA World Cup. Chinese companies that choose to explore Qatari markets will benefit from a multitude of incentives to expand their businesses regionally, including Qatar’s strategic location between East and West, and investment laws that allow up to 100 percent ownership across various sectors, commercial activities, and the real estate market.
