Recently, in an exclusive interview with Newsgd.com, Ali Ghanem Al-Hajri, Qatar’s Consul General in Guangzhou, revealed that because of 5 new international shipping routes, the cooperation between Qatar and China, especially between Qatar and Guangdong surged in 2018.

One of the most successful example of the Belt and Road Initiative

Ali proudly put forward that Qatar is one of the most successful example of the Belt and Road Initiative. Qatar was the third country to join the Belt and Road Initiative and the second country to be a shareholder of the Asian Infrastructure Development Bank.

According to Ali, thanks to 5 new international shipping routes launched over the past two years, the trade volume between Qatar and China tripled in 2018, and one of the routes starts in Guangzhou Port. Before the launch of the new routes, ships carrying on goods between China and Qatar had to transfer in Singapore or Malaysia, which took more time and cost.

Ali also indicated that the cooperation between Qatar and China lies in infrastructure projects. Besides airports and ports, Chinese companies have been operating about 90% of all projects for the 2020 World Cup. This has influenced Qatar is to consider Chinese goods to be of high quality, and Chinese companies of high efficiency.

Seek out more international investors, especially from Guangdong

On January 22nd, the Consulate General of Qatar in Guangzhou held an investment promotion meeting, attempting to attract more Guangdong investors. The meeting served as a preparation for Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani’s visit to China.

Ali stated during the meeting that, as one of the fast-growing regional economies and among the most promising countries globally, Qatar is now seeking more international investors, especially those from China and Guangdong.

In recent years Qatar has applied many preferential economic policies including allowing foreign investors to implement fully-owned investment projects in various sectors, creating a single window for investor services, providing advanced electronic services for business incorporation and so on, tailored to stimulate and attract foreign investments.

Some investment incentives have also been implemented in Qatar to encourage more foreign investment. For example, Non-Qatari investors may be exempted from income tax for a period up to ten years and also customs on the import of necessary machinery and equipments.

Reported by Wing & Nan

Edited by Olivia & Simon