The cooperation between China and Arab today is just the continuation of a long legacy of trade that extends back to ancient times, said Zhu Hongren, chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

He made these remarks at the first China-Arab States Small and Mid-Sized Enterprises Cooperation Forum, a key event during the ongoing China-Arab States Expo, held on Sept 15 in Yinchuan, capital of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region.

Trade between China and Arab countries has steadily grown over the past 10 years at an average annual rate of 30 percent despite regional political unrest and a global economic slowdown.

This year, trade between these countries totaled $60 billion during the first six months, and the number will exceed $100 billion at the end of the year.

As of June, Chinese companies had invested a total of $2.65 billion in Arab countries, he added.

"China and Arab States have different industrial advantages and market demands that are highly complementary to each other," said Zhu.

"They will step into a new stage of trade and business cooperation as the Chinese government continues to accelerate the pace of internationalization and build a more open business environment."

Zhu said small and medium-sized companies in China have played an important role in enlarging the scale of employment and improving people's lives.

By the end of 2012, China had some 14 million registered companies. Small and mid-sized companies provide as much as 80 percent of the country's jobs.

These enterprises are also at the forefront of innovation. Around 80 percent of new products are developed by these companies, Zhu said.

He said he hopes the forum promotes more pragmatic cooperation between China and Arab countries.

Zhu also proposed several ideas that governments of these countries could put into practice to deepen ties in the future.

He said the governments should reinforce their support to the small and mid-sized companies by building information channels, providing legal assistance and increasing communication opportunities to help them expand globally.

Small and mid-sized companies in China and Arab nations should also develop more models for cooperation and have more contact with service agencies.

China and Arab countries will engage in broader cooperation in the future, said Mohamed Ben Youssef, the director-general of the Arab Industrial Development and Mining Organization, adding that bilateral trade will be furthermore strengthened in the fields of industry, agriculture, financial investment, education, culture and tourism.

"Arab countries have many projects that are worthy of investment, and the governments will provide various preferential policies for Chinese companies that locate projects there," Ben Youssef said.

Ben Youssef also noted that his organization is helping local small and mid-sized companies sharpen their competitive edge and increase production capacity while aiding their technological transformation and promoting the application of new innovations.

As an important stop on the Silk Road, where the Chinese and Arab civilizations have traditionally interacted on each other, Ningxia provides many opportunities for Arab companies to make investments in such fields as food, sustainable energy as well as construction, Ben Youssef said.

More and more small and mid-sized companies from Arab countries have shown interest and want to seize the opportunity for mutually beneficial cooperation, he noted.

Crude oil, cashmere, textiles, local food and e-commerce are promising sectors for bilateral trade and cooperation between Ningxia and Arab countries, said Zhang Zuoli, head of the Economic and Information Commission of Ningxia.

During the forum, a China-Arab small and mid-sized company cooperation website and industrial products exhibition portal were also officially put online to facilitate more interaction between Chinese and Arab companies, according to local officials.

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(China Daily 09/17/2013 page10)