China Development Bank (CDB) will set up an office in Jordan in
order to benefit from booming trade ties with the Middle Eastern
country, Jordan Investment Board CEO Maen Nsour said in Beijing on
Friday.
Bilateral trade reached $1 billion last year and is expected to
increase further, said Nsour at a press conference one day after
Jordanian King Abdullah II Bin Al-Hussein left China following a
state visit.
While the CDB, which provides financial support for
infrastructure development in China, is now planning to establish
an office in Jordan, the Jordan Investment Board has also set up an
office in Beijing, its fourth outside Jordan.
Around 20 Chinese companies, employing around 30,000 staff, are
now operating in Jordan. Haier, China's biggest manufacturer of
household appliances, has a factory there which supplies the Middle
Eastern market.
ZTE, one of China's biggest telecommunications equipment
vendors, is also negotiating with Jordanian government agencies to
establish a manufacturing plant there to serve the local market,
Nsour said.
Jordan mainly exports chemical products, leather and
agricultural products to China, and imports chemical products and
machinery from the country.
Bilateral trade has developed rapidly since an agreement on
trade and investment promotion between the two countries was signed
in 2001.
This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment
of diplomatic relations. During the state visit, the leaders of
both countries vowed to further boost bilateral trade.
(Xinhua News Agency November 3, 2007)
