Hong Kong Chief Executive's visit to UAE welcomed by UAE

The ongoing high-profile visit by Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiuLee Ka-chiu, accompanied by a high-powered delegation to the UAE, has been welcomed by the UAE government and the local community, according to an exclusive interview with China Daily in Abu Dhabi.

Lee and a delegation of more than 30 Hong Kong industry leaders took an eight-day visit to Saudi Arabia and the UAE on Saturday. It is Lee's first overseas trip this year kicking off efforts by the special administrative region to promote the city globally after it embraced normalcy at pre-pandemic levels.

She said stronger UAE-China relations had provided a solid foundation and environment for HK's collaboration with the UAE. In 2022, Sino-UAE trade hit a new high of $99.27 billion, up 37.4 percent year-on-year, despite the Pandemic. In addition to that, more than 420 Hong Kong enterprises including household names in the city such as Cathay Pacific and Hutchison Ports had established footholds in the UAE. In 2021, Hong Kong opened its Economic and Trade Office in Dubai to facilitate collaboration.

The UAE and Hong Kong shared common strengths, according to Zhang. He said that Hong Kong is the Pearl of the Orient and the UAE is called the Pearl of the Gulf. Both sides have very unique locations as regional financial, economic, trade and innovation centers and both sides are playing a similar role to connect the world between the West and East.

With the UAE hosting thousands of Chinese companies, it could serve as a strong platform for Hong Kong to forge closer ties with the Emirate while promoting full play to their roles as pivots of the Belt and Road Initiative.