SHARJAH, 1 October 2006 — The fifth Chinese Commodities Fair Sharjah (CCFS), China’s largest trade event in the Middle East, will be held at Expo Center Sharjah from Nov. 25-29. The event will feature over 600 enterprises from more than 29 provinces and municipalities of Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

“The CCFS is a true indicator of the strengthening bilateral relations between UAE and China,” said Saif Al-Midfa, director general, Expo Centre Sharjah.

The CCFS is sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and organized by Chinamex and Expo Center Sharjah.

Products on display at the fair will include vehicles and parts, hardware and tools, machine tools and parts, household electrical apparatus, electronic products, foodstuff, medicines and health products, garments, household textile, yarn, daily commodities, utensil and kitchen articles, lights and decoration products, jewelry, building material and building pottery, decoration materials, and household furniture.

“The fair, besides being depended upon by the Middle East region, particularly the GCC states, as a sourcing channel for high quality and affordable Chinese products and services, is also considered an opportunity for traders, entrepreneurs, and other businessmen from the region for networking as well as exploring business opportunities in China and vice versa,” Al-Midfa said.

Currently there are over 1,000 Chinese companies operating in the UAE .

The GCC states and China are currently in the negotiation stage for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The two are expected to arrive at an agreement by the year-end. Bilateral trade between the GCC states and China is on the rise. In 2005, trade between China and the GCC states amounted to $32 billion of which $10 billion was with the UAE. From 2001 to 2006, Chinese exports to Middle East increased by 30 percent annually.

Within the Middle East region, China’s trade relations with the UAE has been experiencing significant progress. In the first six months of 2006, trade between the UAE and China increased by 28.6 percent to $6.7 billion. Trade between China and the GCC states as a whole increased 34 percent to $21 billion.

By the end of 2006, trade between China and the UAE is expected to grow by 50 percent over 2005 to $15 billion.