Etihad Aviation Group (EAG) has signed a strategic partnership with and Jiangsu Provincial Overseas Cooperation and Investment Company Limited (JOCIC).
The parties plan to cooperate on a wide range of areas to better support the development of the China-UAE Industrial Capacity Cooperation Demonstration Park (China-UAE Industrial Park) in Khalifa Port, Abu Dhabi, including air logistics, procurement, mutual promotion on respective premises and digital channels.
The MoU signifies that EAG will provide the companies investing in the China-UAE Industrial Park with preferred air transportation and cargo rates on the routes and services between China and other cities on Etihad Airways entire network. JOCIC and the companies of the China-UAE Industrial Park also designate Etihad Airways as their preferred airline.
Under the agreement, EAG and JOCIC, the management company of the China-UAE Industrial Park, will jointly explore marketing opportunities through appropriate promotional channels in China and the UAE to promote the China-UAE Industrial Park, Abu Dhabi’s friendly investment environment for Chinese companies as well as Abu Dhabi’s unique geographic advantages and Etihad Airways’ convenient network, which supports China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
In addition, EAG will enjoy special rates on the products produced and manufactured by Chinese companies at the China-UAE Industrial Park.
EAG chief executive officer, Tony Douglas said: “China is a strategically important market for Etihad. We feel extremely honoured to forge such a strategic partnership with JOCIC so as to serve the development of the China-UAE Industrial Capacity Cooperation Demonstration Park, and better foster the Chinese companies within the Industrial Park.”
JOCIC said: “The China-UAE Industrial Capacity Cooperation Demonstration Park is a major project under the Belt and Road Initiative. It represents an important consensus reached by the leadership of China and the UAE to strengthen international industrial capacity cooperation between the two countries.”
Established in July 2017, with a 50-year agreement signed between Abu Dhabi Ports and JOCIC, the China-UAE Industrial Park has successfully achieved investment agreements with 16 Chinese companies, totaling S$1 billion in value.
The Chinese companies investing in the Industrial Park come from various sectors, including new energy sources, aluminum processing, machinery manufacturing, trade and logistics, metallurgy, building materials, chemicals, packaging, and food and beverages.
In May 2018, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) also signed an MoU with JOCIC to establish a comprehensive financial service platform to better integrate financial resources to service the development of the China-UAE Industrial Capacity Cooperation Demonstration Park.
The Industrial Park aims to become a major window and platform for China’s investment and trade cooperation with countries in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
Etihad Airways currently operates daily flights between Abu Dhabi and China’s four main gateways — Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
