People attend the opening ceremony of the fourth China-Arab States Expo in Yinchuan, capital of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Sept. 5, 2019. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)

The 5th China-Arab States Expo will be held in Yinchuan, Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on August 19-22, focusing on deepening economic and trade cooperation in the post-COVID era, China's commerce ministry announced on Friday. 

So far, more than 30 countries have shown their interests to participate in the expo, including United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Jordan. 

Against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, the economic and trade cooperation between China and Arab states has shown resilience, Qian Keming, vice commerce minister, told press conference on Friday in Beijing. 

China is now the largest trade partner for Arab states. In 2020, bilateral trade value hit $239.8 billion despite the impact of the coronavirus. In particular, China's exports of electromechanical equipment and high-tech products to Arab states accounted for 67.4 percent of the total exports, demonstrating Arab consumers' recognition of China's products and Chinese brands, Qian noted. 

The relationship extends to resources with the Middle-East remaining China's largest supplier of crude oil abroad. 

Besides, the solidarity shown by the two sides to combat the virus was visible. For instance, the United Arab Emirates was the first foreign country to authorize Phase III clinical trials on Chinese COVID-19 vaccines. Arab states including Algeria and Egypt also provided material assistance to China in time last year. 

Inaugurated in 2013, the China-Arab States Expo has become an exchange platform for bilateral cooperation in economy and trade, science and technology and medical care. It has gained recognition by countries and regions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, and has made practical contributions in China-Arab cooperation.

A business summit under the Expo will invite around 800 visitors, including noted academics, leading companies and officials from a spectrum of different industries, to talk about digital economy, carbon peak and structure transformation of energy investment, efforts to expand and deepen bilateral cooperation. 

In addition, China-Qatar technology transfer center, China-Arab States technology transfer center will also be built, according to Lai Jiao, vice-chairman of the people's government of Ningxia, on Friday. 

Global Times