Founding President Sheikh Zayed’s visit to China in 1990 established a connection between the two countries that has only grown stronger with time.
It was more than a decade after the formation of the UAE that diplomatic relations with China were established, partly because of reservations in some Arabian Gulf nations about the influence on Maoist sympathisers in the region, in particular the Dhofar rebellion in Oman that ended only 14 years earlier.
While China was notified in December 1971 of the existence of the UAE, relations with the People’s Republic were only formally recognised in November 1984 – in a joint communique announcing relations at ambassadorial level.
By then, trade between the two countries was already well established, with exports from China tripling in the first 10 years of the UAE’s existence, while the UAE became an important supplier of fertiliser to China and Sharjah became a key stopover for Chinese airlines flying to Europe.
A series of delegations from both countries followed, starting in November 1984 – just 22 days after diplomatic relations – with a visit to Abu Dhabi by Wu Xueqian, China’s foreign minister.
Five years later, the highest level visit to date took place with vice president Tian Jiyun arriving in Abu Dhabi.
It was reported that the vice president brought with him an official invitation for Sheikh Zayed to visit China. Seven months later, in December 1989, the Chinese president, Yang Shangkun paid a one-day visit to the UAE as part of a trip to the Middle East.
The scene was set for Sheikh Zayed to fly to Beijing. In May 1990, he departed for a five-day official visit to China, the first by a GCC leader.
At a banquet in Sheikh Zayed’s honour on May 8, president Yang stressed the value China put on the UAE’s development of “friendly ties with China”, and noted that “the countries hold identical or similar stands on major international issues”.
Sheikh Zayed’s visit included not only trips to historic sites such as the Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China, but also a promise by the UAE President to establish an Arab and Islamic studies centre in Beijing.
The UAE Centre for the Study of Islamic Culture and the Teaching of the Arabic Language opened in 1994 and was renamed the Sheikh Zayed Centre for Arabic Language and Islamic Studies during a visit by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, in 2012.
In the years since Sheikh Zayed’s visit to China, more than 700 students have been awarded degrees at the centre.
At the time of Sheikh Mohammed’s visit three years ago, 11 out of 12 of China’s ambassadors to Arab countries had studied at the centre.
On the second day of his 2012 visit, Sheikh Mohammed, also Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, planted a tree in the grounds of the centre as symbol of friendship between the people of the UAE and China.
Three years later, that tree continues to grow and bloom.
plangton@thenational.ae
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England's all-time record goalscorers:
Wayne Rooney 53
Bobby Charlton 49
Gary Lineker 48
Jimmy Greaves 44
Michael Owen 40
Tom Finney 30
Nat Lofthouse 30
Alan Shearer 30
Viv Woodward 29
Frank Lampard 29
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
TICKETS
For tickets for the two-day Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) event, entitled Dubai Invasion 2019, on September 27 and 28 go to www.meraticket.com.
Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
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TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SE%20(second%20generation)
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The%20Sandman
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The%20specs%20
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LEADERBOARD
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ACL Elite (West) - fixtures
Monday, Sept 30
Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
Al Wasl v Al Ahli (8pm)
Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)
Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
Al Gharafa v Al Ain (10pm)
The winners
Fiction
- ‘Amreekiya’ by Lena Mahmoud
- ‘As Good As True’ by Cheryl Reid
The Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Award
- ‘Syrian and Lebanese Patricios in Sao Paulo’ by Oswaldo Truzzi; translated by Ramon J Stern
- ‘The Sound of Listening’ by Philip Metres
The George Ellenbogen Poetry Award
- ‘Footnotes in the Order of Disappearance’ by Fady Joudah
Children/Young Adult
- ‘I’ve Loved You Since Forever’ by Hoda Kotb
Defined benefit and defined contribution schemes explained
Defined Benefit Plan (DB)
A defined benefit plan is where the benefit is defined by a formula, typically length of service to and salary at date of leaving.
Defined Contribution Plan (DC)
A defined contribution plan is where the benefit depends on the amount of money put into the plan for an employee, and how much investment return is earned on those contributions.
The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
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SPECS
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Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
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