Arabic customers talk with Hangzhou businesspeople at the 13th China (UAE) Trade Fair. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

The China-Arab States Summit, which was held in the Saudi capital of Riyadh last month, has brought vast opportunities to businesspeople from East China's Zhejiang province.

Late at night on Dec 22, an Airbus A330 chartered plane from China Southern Airlines landed at Hangzhou International Airport. It flew from Dubai, carrying the leaders of 126 enterprises in Hangzhou, who brought back $450 million yuan in orders from the 13th China (UAE) Trade Fair, one of the largest and most influential comprehensive international fairs in the Middle East and the largest supply platform for Chinese products in the Middle East and Africa.

On Dec 6, a company from Yiwu, known as the "world supermarket", in Zhejiang province, received cross-border RMB payments from customers in Saudi Arabia through Yiwu Pay. This marks the successful implementation of the first RMB cross-border transaction between Yiwu and Saudi Arabia through China's third-party payment system.

From January to October 2022, Yiwu's exports to Middle Eastern countries reached 65.802 billion yuan ($9.56 billion), accounting for 18.24 percent of the city's total exports. Consumer goods made in China and energy in the Middle East have formed a "small cycle" of cross-border RMB flows.

Traditionally, textiles, daily necessities, and small commodities have been the main products exported to the Middle East. In recent Years, mechanical and electrical products produced by Zhejiang province have also found business opportunities there.  

More signals at the China (UAE) Trade Fair have shown that there are many opportunities behind China-Middle East cooperation in the post-pandemic period, and it is also the best time for Zhejiang to integrate it into the global supply chain, officials said.

Arabic customers talk with Hangzhou businesspeople at the 13th China (UAE) Trade Fair. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]