Doha, November 17 (QNA) - The State of Qatar and China have agreed to take further steps to strengthen trade and investment cooperation in order to increase the volume of trade exchange and facilitate the flow of goods, services and investments between the two friendly countries.

This came at the end of the second session of the Qatari-China Joint Committee for Economic, Trade and Technical Cooperation, held in Doha today under the chairmanship of HE Minister of Commerce and Industry Ali bin Ahmed Al-Kuwari, and HE Vice Minister of Commerce of the People's Republic of China Qian Keming.

The two sides discussed the progress made in the recommendations of the first session of the committee, the current projects and plans to expand them, ways to overcome obstacles facing some projects, as well as a number of issues related to enhancing economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries in various fields including trade, investment and industry.

HE Minister of Commerce and Industry Ali bin Ahmed Al-Kuwari said that the Qatari-Chinese partnership represents a prominent example in the external relations map of the State of Qatar as the two countries have had an advanced level of bilateral cooperation for more than three decades, as reflected in official exchanges between the leaderships of the two countries.

HE the Minister noted that the volume of trade exchange between Qatar and China rose to about QR 49.22 billion in 2018, achieving a growth of about 27.08 percent compared to 2017. He added that China is the third trading partner of the State of Qatar, accounting for 11.65 percent of the total trade of the State of Qatar around the world.

Speaking about Chinese investments in the State of Qatar, HE the Minister said that the total number of Chinese companies and representative offices operating in the State of Qatar reached about 265 companies and representative offices, including 244 companies with Qatari-Chinese joint venture capital, and 20 representative offices of Chinese companies, compared to one company wholly owned by the Chinese side, plus one company licensed by the Qatar Financial Center.

HE the Minister added that these companies are working in a number of vital economic sectors such as trade, contracting, construction, information technology and engineering consultancy. He also pointed out that human capital also plays an important role in strengthening the bridges of communication between the two countries where the number of Chinese citizens currently residing in Qatar is more than 3,292."

HE the Minister said that the People's Republic of China represents a distinct destination for Qatari investments, which included several sectors including technology, hospitality, tourism, real estate, wholesale and retail trade, financial services and other important economic sectors.

He also pointed out that the agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoUs) signed between the two countries play a major role in the consolidation of bilateral relations, especially the agreement on the promotion and protection of mutual investments, and the air transport agreement, which allowed the operation of more than 38 passengers and freight flights per week linking Doha with most major Chinese cities.

HE the Minister stressed that these agreements open up promising prospects for achieving strategic integration between the two countries.

HE the Minister of Commerce and Industry said that this meeting comes in light of the mounting fears of many international institutions, about the slowdown in the growth rates of the global economy during the current year, due to high trade barriers, disruption of supply chains and high interest rates. He stressed the need to strengthen and unify efforts in order to create more partnership opportunities and increase the volume of trade and investment exchange between the State of Qatar and the Republic of China.

HE the Minister also invited the Chinese companies to benefit from the distinguished business climate offered by the Qatari economy, as it is one of the most balanced and growing economies in the region, noting that the State of Qatar came first in the world in the index of countries achieving economic growth, during the past 20 years, recording an average annual economic growth of a level of 10.5.

He also pointed to the World Bank's latest projections that the Qatari economy will grow by about 2 percent in 2019 from 1.4 percent in 2018 and rise to about 3 percent in the medium term, driven by growth in the services, and construction sectors as projects progress associated with the implementation of the Qatar National Vision 2030 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Speaking about the investment environment and the business climate in the country, HE the Minister said that the Chinese companies looking to explore the country's domestic markets can benefit from a number of advantages that support their regional expansion, including the strategic location of the country linking East and West, and laws regulating the investment sector with 100% ownership in various sectors and economic, commercial and real estate activities.

The State of Qatar has been keen to ensure the full protection of intellectual property rights, and the freedom of movement of foreign capital, in addition to providing a sophisticated network of free zones, logistics zones and industrial units that will meet all the needs of foreign investors, HE the Minister added.(QNA)