Senior officials from China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) held the fifth meeting of the Joint Economic Commission between China and the UAE in Abu Dhabi on Thursday to discuss the enhancement of the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

During the meeting, the two sides reviewed the development of the economic and trade cooperation between China and the UAE since the fourth meeting of the commission in 2002, and exchanged opinions on the ways to further the cooperation in areas including trade, investment, energy and finance.

The UAE attaches great importance to the economic and trade cooperation with China and is willing to work with China to boost cooperation in the finance sector and invest in China's petrochemical industry, said Mohammed Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz, Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Economy.

China and the UAE have seen comprehensive and fruitful cooperation in economy and trade since 2002, and the UAE has become one of China's most important trade partners in the Middle East region, China's Deputy Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng said.

According to Gao, the total volume of trade between the two countries stood at 20.9 billion U.S. dollars during the first nine months of 2008, representing a grow of 41 percent compared with the same period of last year.

The two sides agreed to bring the joint commission into further play and promote the realization of agreements between the two countries.

(Xinhua News Agency November 28, 2008)