People inspect wares on display at the UAE products exhibition area at the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services in Beijing on September 2, 2022. Photo: VCG

Ever since the UAE joined the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the two countries have witnessed their partnerships extend into many fields, ranging from trade and financial services to education and culture, and now to space cooperation.

On Monday, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held as Etihad Airways launched its first-ever scheduled flights linking Abu Dhabi and Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province. 

Ambassador of China to the UAE Zhang Yiming said at the ceremony that Etihad Airways has become the first foreign airline to operate routes to Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou since the outbreak of the pandemic, media reported. 

"This is of great symbolic significance and fully reflects the high-level development of China-UAE relations and the profound friendship between the two peoples," he said. 

On September 16, the China National Space Administration signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UAE's Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), marking the beginning of the first joint space project between the two countries and laying a solid foundation for future space cooperation between the two countries. 

In September, the CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of CRRC Group, successfully delivered two Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit Trains (ART) to the UAE, which set off from Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province before arriving to their final destination. It was CRRC's first batch of ART trains delivered to overseas users, according to a Xinhua report. 

According to CRRC, the unmanned train integrates the advantages of trams and buses with the merits of low cost, short construction periods, and flexible operation, read the report. 

Analysts pointed out that as the UAE has now put science and technology at the core of its socio-economic development, the two countries will see more cooperation in these fields in the future. And there is high potential for cooperation in fields such as digitalization, AI, medicine, and other high-tech areas. 

"The UAE and China share the goal of sustainable development, and we have gained prestigious achievements already… We can expect more accomplishments with further cooperation," said the UAE Ambassador to China Ali Obaid AI Dhaheri.


Global Times