Wang Yanguo, Chairman of the headquarters of the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement Chamber of Commerce and Industry (APTACCI) and Chairman of its China National Committee, held bilateral talks on the morning of 8 October at the Grand Hyatt Beijing with Prince Khalid, who was visiting China as a special representative of the President of the United Arab Emirates, the chamber said. The talks took place shortly after China’s National Day holiday. According to APTACCI, the two sides reached a number of important understandings on industrial cooperation across several sectors, a regular exchange mechanism and the implementation of key projects, and formally established a long-term strategic partnership. The chamber described the meeting as friendly, practical and constructive.

Key facts

  • Who: Wang Yanguo, Chairman of the APTACCI headquarters and of its China National Committee, and Prince Khalid, described by the chamber as a special representative of the President of the United Arab Emirates.
  • When and where: the morning of 8 October 2026, at the Grand Hyatt Beijing.
  • Outcome: a long-term strategic partnership between APTACCI and UAE government agencies, business communities and leading companies, with a strategic cooperation agreement to be drafted and signed.
  • Priority sectors: advanced manufacturing, new energy, biomedicine, the digital economy, green agriculture and technological innovation.
  • Next step: a delegation to the UAE planned for the first half of 2027.

At the start of the talks, Wang welcomed Prince Khalid to China and wished him a successful and fruitful visit. He thanked the prince for making APTACCI the first international organisation he met during the visit, saying this reflected the importance and trust the UAE side places in APTACCI as an international platform.

Wang then introduced the chamber officials attending the talks and outlined APTACCI’s compliance credentials, organisational structure, global presence and development vision. He also presented the chamber’s current priorities and flagship projects in international trade promotion, the commercialisation of scientific and technological achievements, cross-border industrial cooperation and support for regional opening-up, presenting the chamber as a platform for two-way exchange between China and other countries and for high-standard opening-up.

Prince Khalid spoke highly of the meeting and thanked Wang and APTACCI for their warm reception. He said the talks had been sincere, practical and forward-looking and had laid a solid foundation for long-term cooperation. Outlining the UAE Centennial 2071 strategy, he said the UAE is accelerating the transformation and upgrading of its industrial structure and, building on cooperation in traditional energy and infrastructure, is expanding into emerging industries. He said the UAE is keen to deepen comprehensive, multi-level practical cooperation with China, focusing on advanced manufacturing, new energy, biomedicine, the digital economy, green agriculture and technological innovation, and to promote two-way investment, joint technology development and industrial projects involving Chinese and Emirati companies.

Also attending were Liu Yi and Saeed, directors of the UAE-based CMD Group, and Liu Ying, Executive Chairman of APTACCI’s representative office in the UAE and Chairman of Yingyi Capital. They shared views on establishing a regular China–UAE summit mechanism, jointly building international industrial cooperation parks, improving the business environment for both sides, and promoting technology exchange and project matchmaking, setting out more detailed steps for putting the strategic cooperation into practice.

After in-depth consultations, the two sides agreed that APTACCI will establish a long-term strategic partnership with UAE government agencies, business communities and leading companies. They will work on drafting and signing a strategic cooperation agreement covering cooperation priorities, the implementation of physical projects, the introduction of advanced technologies and two-way resource linkages.

The UAE side described the talks as significant, practical and promising. Once the agreement is signed, the APTACCI headquarters secretariat and the APTACCI UAE National Committee will jointly lead and coordinate the implementation of each cooperation item. The two sides have tentatively agreed to send a delegation to the UAE in the first half of 2027 for targeted matchmaking, industrial visits and project negotiations.

According to the chamber, the meeting opens an important channel for APTACCI to connect with high-end economic and trade resources in the Middle East and creates a new platform for coordination between non-governmental bodies and international organisations in China and the UAE. It said this will help deepen industrial matchmaking, cooperation in science and technology, and the liberalisation and facilitation of trade and investment between China and the UAE, supporting high-quality bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

Other APTACCI officials at the meeting included Xu Jinliang, Chairman of the chamber’s Climate Change Committee; Wu Shengfu, the committee’s Vice Chairman; and Ma Shuchang, Director of the chamber’s Business Centre.

Source: Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement Chamber of Commerce and Industry (APTACCI). Photos courtesy of APTACCI.