China to Increase Energy Cooperation with QatarChina's trade minister, Shi Guangsheng, said Tuesday the Chinese government encourages local companies to join in construction in Qatar's oil, natural gas and power industries to help promote cooperation between the two countries.At a meeting with Qatari Minister of Energy and Industry Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiya, Shi said Chinese companies are highly competitive in civil engineering projects and hoped the Qatari side support and provide facilities to Chinese companies operating in the oil-rich country. Shi said that China's home appliances, garments and shoes are world-level commodities in terms of design and quality, and their prices are competitive. He expressed the belief that Chinese commodities will satisfy the need of the Qatari market. Despite the smooth development of Sino-Qatari trade relations since the establishment of their diplomatic ties in 1988, China has made efforts to increase imports from Qatar in recent years, and hopes that Qatar will in return expand exports from China so as to seek a balanced bilateral trade, he said. Trade volume between China and Qatar reached 91.12 million U.S.dollars last year, and the figure for the first nine months of this year exceeded 300 million U.S. dollars, according to Chinese customs. Good prospects exist for Sino-Qatari economic and trade cooperation, said the minister, who also expressed thanks for Qatar's support for China's bid to enter the World Trade Organization (WTO). Al-Attiya said that bilateral economic and trade relations have been developing steadily. Qatar is a big oil and natural gas exporter, and also a big food and daily necessities importer, therefore, huge potential exists for bilateral economic and trade cooperation, he said. The two ministers also exchanges views on the international oil price and energy cooperation. |
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