Fahad Al Qarqawi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Trade, led a high-level UAE delegation through a series of pivotal meetings in the city of Guangzhou as part of AIM Talks activities, reflecting the growing momentum of UAE-China cooperation across industrial, technological, and economic sectors linked to future growth drivers. The meetings also reinforced the event's standing as a practical platform bringing together institutional dialogue, sectoral cooperation, and sustainable economic partnerships between the two countries.
These meetings fall within AIM Talks' broader vision as a leading platform that aligns institutions with real economic opportunities and transforms high-level dialogue into practical cooperation tracks between governments, the private sector, and technology and industrial bodies. From this perspective, the Guangzhou meetings embodied the platform's executive dimension and cemented its role as an effective instrument for driving cross-border cooperation between the UAE and China within a dynamic economic environment characterised by its capacity for growth, expansion, and regional and international influence.
The first stop came through a high-level bilateral meeting held by the UAE delegation with Sun Zhiyang, Mayor of Guangzhou, attended by a number of senior city government officials, to explore opportunities for aligning urban development priorities with broader tracks of trade and investment cooperation with the UAE. The meeting clearly reflected Guangzhou's growing importance as a strategic hub for advanced industry, innovation, scientific research, and international trade.
During the meeting, the Chinese side presented the strategic pillars underpinning Guangzhou, foremost among them artificial intelligence, new energy, and the low-altitude economy, while affirming the city's readiness to expand cooperation with the UAE across shared-priority sectors. The discussions also helped lay a practical foundation for future cooperation by driving more specialised exchanges in the fields of transport, smart mobility, finance, tourism, and new energy, supporting the building of institutional partnerships and pilot projects and enhancing opportunities for sustainable bilateral growth.
Fahad Al Qarqawi emphasised the UAE's strategic standing as a regional hub connecting markets and offering an advanced, competitive environment that supports expansion into the wider region. He also highlighted a range of promising areas for enhanced cooperation, including artificial intelligence, finance, energy, construction, tourism, and food security, reflecting the breadth of cooperation between the two countries and the multiplicity of opportunities that open the way for further progress in the coming period.