Chairman of China’s Qingdao Port visits Jafza

HE Zheng Minghua, Chairman of Qingdao Port, led two-member delegation comprising Mr. Zhang Kingaya, Deputy Director General of the Port, visited Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) yesterday. They were received by HE Salma Ali Saif Bin Hareb, CEO of Jafza and Economic Zones World (EZW) and Ibrahim Mohamed Al Janahi, Jafza Deputy CEO and Chief Commercial Officer of EZW, at the Free Zone. 

Salma Hareb in her brief welcome address underlined the historical Dubai-China, as well as, Jafza-China trade relations and stressed upon the need to further strengthen bilateral ties between the two sides. 

She said: “China is Dubai and Jafza’s one of the top trade partners. 60 per cent of China’s trade with the region is routed through the Jebel Ali Port and the Free Zone. Jafza is currently home to more than 238 Chinese companies which includes leading multi-nationals such as SINOPEC Group, Sinochem International, China National Petroleum Corp., CSCEC, and China Railway Engineering Middle East among others. These companies have played key role in strengthening bilateral trade relations between China and the UAE. We look forward to a strong bilateral trade relation with the Port of Qingdao, which is an important manufacturing centre in East China, to further strengthen Dubai-China trade ties. 

“The bilateral trade between Jafza and China has posted more than 5.5 fold growth in the last 10 years growing from AED 4 billion in 2004 to AED 46 billion in 2013. The growth reflects growing interest of Chinese multinationals in the Middle East region and their desire to use Jafza as their re-export hub.” 

The Free Zone’s key offerings include the most efficient multi-modal connectivity, range of products to meet a variety of business needs, world – class ecosystem comprising range of services right from administrative to regulatory, under one roof, and a vibrant global business community. These integral elements have successfully positioned Jafza as the trade and logistics hub of the entire Middle East region comprising West Asia, the CIS, Africa and the Indian subcontinent. 

HE Zheng Ming congratulated Salma Hareb for Jafza’s outstanding products, services and ecosystem, which has made Jafza the business hub of the region. He expressed his keen interest to further strengthen trade ties with the Free Zone to support Jafza – China trade growth in the coming years. 

Qingdao is one of the busiest ports in the world. The Port of Qingdao is a seaport on the Yellow Sea in the vicinity of Qingdao, Shandong, People's Republic of China. 

The Port of Qingdao is home to three industrial zones: Qingdao Economic and Technological Development Area, Qingdao Free Trade Zone, and Qingdao High-tech Industrial Zone, and is considered a center for heavy industries like iron and steel. The port has been 2nd largest for foreign trade throughput in China for years.