Tejari seeks to boost trade ties with China

Dubai: Tejari, an online business-to-business marketplace and a unit of Dubai World, signed an agreement on Wednesday with the government of Qingdao in China to boost trade.

The Bureau of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of Qingdao plans to grow commercial links with the Middle East and conduct half of its $1 billion trade with the UAE online by 2013, according to Chinese representatives.

More than 800 Chinese suppliers are expected to register with the bilingual Tejari this year, officials said. The company expects to generate $50 million in trade for Qingdao's economy by the end of 2008.

Wu Jingian, vice-mayor of Qingdao was present at the signing of the agreement along with delegates from the city.

Omar Hijazi, chief executive of Tejari, said the goal of the agreement is to "introduce more Chinese suppliers to Middle Eastern buyers".