The "Qingdao Day · Shandong Week" of China Pavilion kicked off on March 24 during the ongoing Expo 2020 Dubai in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The event, hosted by the Qingdao Municipal People's Government and the Qingdao Sub-Council of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, was held simultaneously in Dubai and Qingdao and was broadcast live in both Chinese and English online and offline.

The "Qingdao Day · Shandong Week" of China Pavilion kicks off on March 24 during the ongoing Expo 2020 Dubai. [Photo/Qingdao Daily]

Qingdao is an important central city along the coast of China, a coastal tourist city, an international port city and a national historical and cultural city. As one of China's first coastal cities to open to the rest of world, it plays a role as a pivotal point in the New Eurasian Land Bridge economic corridor as well as maritime cooperation. It is also a new important strategic pivot for international cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

The city is the bridgehead of Shandong's opening-up to the world. It plays a vital role in promoting land-sea cooperation and internal and external communication.

The UAE is an important pivot for cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. For a long time, Qingdao and the UAE have maintained friendly exchanges and cooperation in such fields as the economy and trade, transportation, and agriculture, which further solidifies the friendship between the two sides.

The China Pavilion at the Expo 2020 Dubai [Photo/Qingdao Daily]

The entire import and export trade between Qingdao and the UAE reached $1.54 billion in 2021, rising 77.8 percent year-on-year. With a contractual foreign investment of $162 million, the UAE has invested in 43 projects in Qingdao, and Qingdao has approved 28 investment projects in the UAE worth more than $70 million.

A series of business exchange activities were held during the "Qingdao Day · Shandong Week" event. Several strategic cooperation agreements were signed among Qingdao companies and their counterparts from Middle Eastern countries.