China is establishing a distribution center for the nation's products in the United Arab Emirates.

The Dubai-based center will be the largest trading platform China has ever constructed overseas, according to an official from the Middle East Investigation and Trade Promotion Center of China, which has links to the Ministry of Commerce.

"The distribution center for Chinese products is a fresh move in local enterprises' strategies to go overseas," the official, who preferred not to be named, said.

The distribution center will be a key expansion location for Chinese products into the Middle East, Africa and East Europe, he said.

The official said cheap and good-quality Chinese products will also offer more choices to people in the regions.

"The distribution center, backed by a good location, will become an expressway for Chinese products," he said.

The United Arab Emirates, which has a regional position comparable to Hong Kong in Asia, has strong trade links with the Middle East, Africa and East Europe.

The United Arab Emirates is also famous for its trading environment as it has low tariff rates and few taxes for income, added value and consumption.

Dubai, a port city, is the world's third largest harbor for entrepot trade, following Hong Kong and Singapore.

The official predicted the distribution center will help export US$1 billion worth of Chinese products to the Middle East, accounting for 10 per cent of China's exports to the region.

The center, approved by the Chinese and United Arab Emirates governments, is set to open in September.

The center, a large business mall, will be composed of a trading market, warehouses and apartments.

The market will cover an area of 150,000 square meters with more than 4,000 stands.

The warehouses and apartments will cover 45,000 and 140,000 square meters respectively.

The official said he expects the center will also help build the image of Chinese products in the Middle East and attract business people from the region to co-operate with Chinese groups. Stronger trade ties between China and the United Arab Emirates will be another plus.

In the first 10 months of the year, Chinese exports to the United Arab Emirates totaled US$3.9 billion, with imports hitting US$625 million.

(China Daily December 3, 2003)