Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Abu Dhabi on Thursday to kick-start his state visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
President Xi was received at the airport by the Vice-President and Prime minster of the UAE Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and the Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE armed Forces Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed.
This is the first visit to the UAE by a Chinese head of state in 29 years, and is seen as a clear indication of the bilateral friendships President Xi aims to build.
Ahead of his visit to the Arab nation, the Chinese leader wrote an article titled “Working Hand in Hand for a Better Future,” which was published in two UAE national newspapers.
In the article, President Xi outlined why collaboration between the two countries was key for future developments.
“I look forward to working with the UAE leaders to draw up a blueprint for China-UAE cooperation so as to unlock its full potentials and advance China-UAE relations at a higher level and speed and build a China-UAE community of shared future in Belt and Road cooperation,” Xi’s article read in part.
After completing the UAE visit, the Chinese leader will embark on a four-nation visit of Africa, where he will visit Senegal, Rwanda, South Africa (where he will attend the 2018 BRICS Summit in Johannesburg) and Mauritius.
The BRICS Summit is scheduled to take place between July 26 and 27.
