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Shanghai-Dubai ties to shine at World Expo 2020
By:Wang Jiaye  |  From:english.eastday.com  |  2019-12-10 15:01

“Better City, Better life”, the theme of the Shanghai World Expo, has been deeply rooted among those who visited it in 2010, while “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”, that of the Expo Dubai 2020, has created much anticipation as the event draws near.

A promotional meeting for the Expo Dubai was held in the Peninsula Shanghai on Dec 4, which also celebrated the 20th anniversary of the sister-city ties between Shanghai and Dubai next year.

Sha Hailin, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress and President of the Shanghai People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries stated in his speech that since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1984, China and the United Arab Emirates have witnessed the smooth development of friendly cooperation, adding that the mutual visits by leaders of the two countries within one year have led the bilateral ties into a "golden age".

Sha Hailin

Sha also noted that Shanghai and Dubai have carried out exchanges and cooperation in many fields including trade, urban construction, finance, culture and tourism, and have achieved fruitful results since the establishment of sister-city relations on May 30, 2000.

"'Connecting Minds, Creating the Future', the theme of the Expo Dubai, is of great significance to human development in this era," said Sha, expressing that as a sister city, Shanghai is willing to share with Dubai its experiences of holding the Expo 2010 and is going to take an active part in the Expo Dubai.

Sha talks with Mohammed Al Hashmi.

The Expo Dubai will kick off on Oct 20, 2020 and last until Apr 10, 2021. It is expected to receive 25 million visitors. The Expo site will be located in the southwest of Dubai.

Mohammed Al Hashmi, Chief Innovation Technology Officer at Expo 2020 Dubai, stated that all construction of the permanent buildings on the site will be finished by the end of this year and they have received participation confirmations from 192 nations that will make the Expo one of the most inclusive and international World Expos in their 168-year history.

The UAE Pavilion will be a permanent building in Dubai.

Moving wings

Mohammed Al Hashmi said they have carefully studied the reasons behind the great success of the Expo Shanghai, adding that “not least the incredible engagement that was seen from ordinary people who came in such very large numbers to witness your vision of a future filled with potential for all - ‘Better City, Better Life’.”

“We very much appreciate the wise guidance and full support of the Shanghai government. As we step up our efforts to welcome up to 25 million visits to Expo 2020, which we hope will include a good proportion of guests from China,” he said.

The China Pavilion, known as the ‘Light of China’, is shaped like a traditional Chinese lantern. It will be one of the biggest of all international participant structures.

The China Pavilion will present many innovative technologies including the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST), the Beidou satellite and 5G.

According to Mohammed Al Hashmi, nearly 1.5 million Chinese visitors came to the UAE in 2018, and the latest data revealed a big increase of some 15 per cent on that.

Additionally, China continues to be the largest trading partner of the UAE, he said, adding that they expect to see non-oil trade between the two nations reach some USD 70 billion by next year.

Other attendees at the promotional meeting included: Zhu Weimin, Deputy Director-General of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government; Jing Ying, Vice President of Shanghai People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries; and Rashed Matar Alqemzi, UAE Consul General in Shanghai.

Photos by Yu Kai



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