China-Arab States Expo Facilitates Technology Cooperation Between China and the Arab States

YINCHUAN, China, Sept. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The China-Arab States Expo 2015 will be held in Ningxia, China from September 10-13^th. In addition to the opening ceremony, the celebration commending the guest country of honor, economic and trade conferences and forums and many exhibitions. This year's Expo will also include the Online Silk Road Forum and the China-Arab States Technology Transfer and Innovation Cooperation Conference.

China mainly exports manufacturing equipment, textiles and clothing as well as electronics to the Arab States, while imports consist largely of crude oil and petrochemicals. There are broad prospects for cooperation in satellites and e-commerce between China and the Arab States.

In terms of the opportunities in the satellite manufacturing sector, China has extensive research and development experience and is well-positioned to expand into international markets, as the country has successfully exported and delivered several communication and remote sensing satellites, thanks to its enhanced ability in the aerospace sector. On the other hand, the Arab States have started to develop satellites on their own, with a strong desire to promote the development of an aerospace industry. As a result, there is a great opportunity for collaboration between China and the Arab States.

In addition, China is expected to overtake the United States as the world's largest e-commerce market by 2015, according to the report E-Commerce Superpower: Navigating China's Unique Online-Shopping Ecosystem issued by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The country's e-commerce market is projected to reach more than 2 trillion yuan (US$300billion) in transaction value by 2015, with e-commerce expected to penetrate across all industries, the report stated. In Arab countries, the e-commerce market also grew rapidly. According to a report issued by Arabic-language news, blogging and media website Al Bawaba, the e-commerce market for the whole Arab world stood at US$7 billion in 2014 and may reach US$13.4 billion by 2020. As a result, a large space is opening up between China and the Arab States in terms of cooperation in the e-commerce sector.

China and the Arab States will open an e-commerce and satellite application and development sub-forum and new-generation cloud computing sub-forum at the Online Silk Road Forum. The opening ceremony for China-Arab States Technology Transfer center will be held at the China-Arab States Technology Transfer and Innovation Cooperation Conference, with some key projects scheduled to be negotiated and contracted.