King Abdullah II visits Yinchuan city, attends opening of Chinese-Arab Expo

His Majesty King Abdullah II began his tour of China on Sunday visiting Yinchuan city in the predominantly Muslim region of Ningxia. The King met with member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Yu Zhengsheng, and reviewed the steps taken by Yinchuan to enhance cooperation with Arab and Islamic countries through hosting annual Chinese-Arab fairs in the economic and investment fields. Talks during the meeting dealt with Jordanian-Chinese ties and means to further boost them in the area of trade, industry and investment. The King spoke about the privileges offered by Jordan to foreign investors, mainly facilities as well as a secure investment climate. His Majesty stressed Jordan's keenness to boost cooperation and trade exchange with China. He also urged Chinese companies to make use of the investment opportunities in the Kingdom and invest in the mega projects in the fields of energy and water. He said both Jordan and China have a history of good relations, adding that Jordan, thanks to its strategic location in the Arab world, is capable of helping China evolve strong partnership ties with the Arab world. The King expressed his admiration of the Chinese economic model, highlighting at the same time the need to exchange expertise and benefit from the Chinese experience in developing various governorates, enhancing development and improving the services' sector in the Kingdom. King Abdullah's visit to China comes as part of the framework to develop bilateral cooperation in the interest of the two countries. The meeting was attended by Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh, Director of the King's Office Imad Fakhoury, Minister of Industry and Trade Hatim Halawani, Jordan's Ambassador to China Yahia Qaralah as well as top Chinese officials. On the sidelines of his visit to Yinchuan, the King also attended the China-Arab Expo in the presence of King of Bahrain Hamad Bin Issa Al Khalifah, and a number of ministers, senior economic officials and businessmen from more than 20 Arab and Islamic countries. The King toured the expo which featured Jordanian companies, businessmen, and owners of small and medium enterprises showcasing Jordanian products and benefiting from the Chinese experience. His Majesty also toured Jordan's pavilion which provided an opportunity to the people become familiar with the Jordanian economic and trade products. He was briefed by businessmen and representatives of Jordanian companies on their role in promoting Jordanian products and encouraging foreign businessmen and companies to invest in Jordan. King Abdullah also toured the pavilions of the UAE and Kuwait as well as the Ningxia city, which is hosting the exhibition. During a tour of the pavilions of certain Chinese companies specializing in alternative and solar energy, the King was briefed on the latest technologies used in the energy and transport fields. On the sidelines of the expo, His Majesty met with the King of Bahrain, Hamad Bin Issa Al Khalifah, and discussed means to forge closer ties between the two countries as well as the latest developments in the Middle East. The King also visited Nanguan Mosque in Yinchuan and toured various facilities of the mosque that was built more than 480 years ago. He and the accompanying delegation performed prayers at the Mosque.