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DUBAI, Sept. 24-- In recent weeks, public and private institutions of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and China have shown great interest in further expanding the bilateral business and cultural ties. The bilateral trade between China and the UAE reached a total of 170.2 billion dirhams (46.37 billion U.S. dollars) in 2016, which made China the UAE's biggest trade partner for the third consecutive year, according to UAE Ministry of Economy. Officials and business people of the two countries have repeatedly hailed the potential of further deepening the bilateral trades ties. On September 17, the China-UAE Economic Investment Forum hosted a Chinese delegation from the Shenzhen International Investment and Promotion Association, which hopes to attract UAE investors to the Bao'an District, the "heartland for economic development on the East Coast of the Pearl River Estuary," said Zhang Zhibiao, director of Shenzhen Bao'an People's Congress. Walid Abdulla Marhoon, senior manager of the Dubai Investment Development Agency, looked forward to enhancing cooperation between Dubai and Shenzhen, particularly in the fields of manufacturing, construction, textile, and information and communication technologies. The UAE officially supports China's Belt and Road Initiative, or the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which aims to build a trade and infrastructure network that connects Asia with the Middle East, Africa and Europe. | 
