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(Yicai Global) April 1 -- The regional administration of China's southern Hainan province will join hands with a financial free zone in Abu Dhabi to enlarge the Chinese free trade zone's influence.
Hainan and Abu Dhabi Global Market penned a memorandum for cooperation to help Hainanese companies to expand their business, find funding, and invest in the Middle East and North Africa, the pair told Yicai Global in a signing ceremony during the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan.
China turned the island province of Hainan into an FTZ last April to boost business activity.
The Middle Eastern partner will provide legal services and assist Hainanese firms to assess risks. The pair will collaborate to optimize the structure of the FTZ, improve its financial services, and seek to internationalize the Chinese yuan. They will also aim to advance free trade along the Belt and Road initiative, referring to President Xi Jinping's international investment plan.
The United Arab Emirates is one of the first countries to take part in the Road and Belt initiative, and also one of the founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank which is a multilateral lender that supports projects in the Asia-Pacific region.
Editor: Emmi Laine