20/11/2016
The second edition of the “Made in China Exhibition” has ended in full success and broad turnout last week at the Doha Exhibitions & Convention Center, according to a press release issued by the Chamber on Saturday.
The exhibition co-organized by Qatar Chamber and China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges of the Ministry of Commerce was held under the patronage of HE Sheikh Abdulla bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani Prime Minister and Interior Minister fom 16-19 Nov, 2016.
The expo was opened by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs HE Ahmed bin Abdullah al Mahmoud, in attendance of Qatar Chamber Chairman Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani and was also attended by Governor of Qatar Central Bank (QCB), Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud al Thani; and the Ambassador of China to Qatar HE Li Chen.
The four-day exhibition aimed to promote quality Chinese products and contributes to cementing economic and trade ties between Qatar and China, according to a press release issued by the Chamber yesterday.
It was sponsored by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China “ICBC” as strategic sponsor, while “Qatar General Insurance & Reinsurance Company’’ “QGIRCO” and “Al Jaber Group” are golden sponsors and “Doha Bank” a silver sponsor.
For his part, Qatar Chamber Director General Saleh bin Hamad Al Sharqi confirmed the Chamber’s keenness to organize a distinguished expo in size, area and number of participation, pointing to the Chinese desire to take part in the third edition next year.
Al Sharqi said number of visitors have exceeded 6000 during the four days of the exhibition. They had been briefed on the products of more than 200 high quality Chinese companies on an area of 10000 sqr.
The exhibition was a good opportunity to open the markets of the region for Chinese companies; it created a platform for making productive partnerships with their counterparts in the region, he added.
In fact, “Made in China” exhibition represents an ideal opportunity for raising the awareness of the importance of using the Yuan in investment and trade transactions. It, however, aims to promote quality Chinese products and contributes cementing economic and trade ties between China and region countries, he noted.
He also said that 2016 is the Qatar-China Culture year and the culture exchange between the two countries will certainly enhance the economic and business relations between the two countries, besides the friendly cooperation in other related fields. So, we have allocated a space “ Bazar” for displaying Qatari and Chinese handcrafts, he added.
“Qatar-China Forum” was held on the sidelines of the exhibition to provide an ideal platform for businessmen to discuss investment opportunities and challenges facing expanding investments in both sides.
Presentations were delivered by Qatari and Chinese institutions and bodies to inform about the projects that are being implemented in both countries.
The Public Works Authority ‘Ashghal’, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), Qatar Ports Management Co. (MAWANI) and Qatar Railways Company (Qatar Rail) gave presentations on the sidelines of the exhibition to display their ongoing and future projects.
QC Director General assured that the aim of the expo was not only enhancing Qatar-china bilateral trade and economic cooperation spheres, but it sought boosting the cultural communication between he two peoples as well.
Pointing to the participating firms, he said that the 200 Chinese that took part in this year edition are different than those in the first edition. We were keen to enable new Chinese districts to take part in order to display different kinds of industries in the Qatari market. Next year edition will witness participation of new districts and firms that didn’t participate in the two last editions.
“The number of Chinese companies that participated in the exhibition has almost doubled this year. This show how important Qatari market is to China, and the depth of the relations between the two countries,” he said.
Talks are being undergone now with a foreign country to organize a similar expo in 2017, Al Sharqi revealed. This step aims at helping local manufacturers to exchange experience with their counterparts from another country.
The “Made in Chine” 2016 edition has witnessed signing of number of MOUs between Qatari Chinese companies for enhancing cooperation ties and exchanging experience. Trade transactions have been implemented as well.
He praised the role played by the Exhibition Section in the Chamber that has been established recently with the new administration and organized successfully number of exhibitions inside and outside the State of Qatar.
‘Qatar a very important market for China firms’
Despite a recent decline in trade between China and Qatar, the economic relationship between the two countries is poised to grow rapidly in the coming years, according to Chinese Ambassador to Qatar HE Li Chen.
The last two years saw a decrease in the volume of trade between China and Qatar due to a fall in the prices of oil and gas.
The total trade between the two countries amounted to QR 21.5 billion in 2015 and QR 17.7 billion so far in 2016.
Qatar and China were engaged in a concerted effort to arrest the decline in trade, Chen told Qatar Tribune on the sidelines of the ‘Made-in-China’ exhibition, which concluded in Doha on Friday.
“China is a major energy-importing country and relies primarily on Qatar for natural gas and LNG. There has been a close cooperation between the two countries in the energy field for many years,” the envoy said, adding that the economic ties between both countries have seen progress in the past years.
He expressed hope of further growth in trade and said that was one of the primary intentions behind organising the Made-in-China exhibition for a second time in Qatar.
“The number of Chinese companies that participated in the exhibition has almost doubled this year. This show how important Qatari market is to China, and the depth of the relations between the two countries,” Chen said.
This year, more than 160 companies participated in the exhibition against the 100 last year. The exhibition drew more than 6,000 visitors this time.
Chen also praised the efforts made by the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industries and the China International Centre for Economic and Technical Exchanges for putting the exhibition together successfully.
“We hope the success of the expo this year will continue in the years to come. There are long-term contracts between Chinese and Qatari companies.”
Review of the previous events
Qatari government held the first large-scale professional procurement exhibition with the theme of “architecture, science and technology” in Doha, the capital of Qatar, during December 14-16, 2015, exhibitors of which were all Chinese enterprises, including leading enterprises in China’s construction industry and superior building materials supporting facility enterprises, mainly demonstrating countries in the Middle East and Africa top-level products and services in fields of architecture, science and technology.
The 105 enterprises participating in the exhibition this time mainly came from Guangdong, Shenzhen, Jiangsu and other provinces of China. The exhibition achieved a complete success under the full Support of Qatari government. The products in fields of Chinese furniture, lighting, architecture, science and technology enjoyed great popularity in Doha, and the exhibition attracted 4,500 professional buyers during 3 days, with volume of transaction amounting to QR 45 million and volume of possible transaction amounting to QR 450 million.
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