Jordan to capitalise on ‘guest of honour’ status at China expo

YINCHUAN, China – The 2015 China-Arab States Expo starts Thursday in Yinchuan, the capital of Ningxia Hui autonomous region, Jordan is taking part as an honorary guest with the largest pavilion. 

The event, from September 10 to 13, will be attended by His Majesty King Abdullah and senior government officials and delegates representing public and private entities. 

The Jordanian pavilion size will be around 1,000 square metres, officials said.

The expo was launched in 2010 as a means to expand economic cooperation between China and Arab countries, according to Jordanian government officials who are in Yinchuan to prepare for Jordan's participation. 

Dozens of public and private companies will take part in the activities of the event, which is expected to see the signing of six agreements and two memoranda of understanding in the fields of tourism, telecommunications, infrastructure, energy and education. 

The expo will be held under the theme “Spreading Silk Road Spirit, Deepen China-Arab Cooperation”. 

Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Maha Ali told reporters that the event will be an opportunity for Jordan to attract Chinese investments and boost bilateral trade, adding that being an honourary guest Jordan will seize the opportunity to shed the light on its commercial, cultural and tourism sectors.

President of the Jordan Investment Commission (JIC) Montaser Oqlah said that Jordan will have two pavilions, a cultural and a commercial, to showcase the products of Jordan firms. 

An economic Jordanian-Chinese forum will be held on the sidelines of the expo, he said. 

Jordan and China will sign several agreements on Thursday on the sidelines the forum. These will include an agreement on establishing a Chinese-Jordanian university, which will be the first Chinese university in the Arab world, besides a railway agreement. 

Several agreements will also be signed between Jordan’s private sector entities and its Chinese counterpart in several fields.