"Bahrain and China have vast space for economic and trade cooperation"

Recently, the first phase of the Bahrain East Sitra Affordable Housing Project, constructed by China Machinery Industry Engineering Group Co., Ltd., has officially handed over and put into use the 1077 buildings. Bahrain's Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman attended the inauguration ceremony. The Bahrain News Agency reported that this residential area has scientific municipal planning and provides advanced design concepts for residential units, meeting the wishes of many Bahraini families. As the largest social housing project in Bahrain to date, the first phase of the East Sitra affordable housing project has been completed on schedule with high quality and handed over for use, which will help improve local people's livelihoods and establish a good reputation for Chinese enterprises in the Bahrain engineering market.
China is Bahrain's third largest trading partner and the largest source of imports. In recent years, Chinese enterprises have actively participated in the construction and investment of infrastructure and livelihood projects in Bahrain, such as energy, housing, communications, manufacturing, etc., to promote the close connection between Bahrain's "2030 Economic Development Vision" and the "the Belt and Road" initiative, and help local economic and social development.
In May 2023, Salman unveiled the Adu Phase II gas combined cycle power plant and seawater desalination project. As a key project of Bahrain's 2030 Economic Development Vision, the installed capacity of the Adu Phase II project accounts for nearly 30% of Bahrain's total electricity generation. In 2018, Shandong Electric Power Construction Third Company, a subsidiary of China Electric Power Construction Corporation, won the bid for the 1540 MW gas-fired power generation project in Adu Phase II. Fatima Faisal, a local employee of the company, said, "Here, Chinese enterprises have become synonymous with high quality."
In the workshop of Chongqing International Composite Materials Abasan Fiberglass Co., Ltd. located in the southern part of Mukharag Island, Bahrain International Investment Park, raw materials are melted into liquid at high temperatures, and then transformed into silver white fiberglass through leakage plates and multiple drawing processes. As the largest investment project in Bahrain by China, the factory produces 120000 tons of fiberglass annually and serves over 800 customers in 60 countries and regions worldwide. The CFO of the company, Chi Bin, told reporters that over the past 10 years of investment in Bahrain, the company has actively created job opportunities and collaborated with universities such as Bahrain on internships to help cultivate local industrial talents.

Not long ago, the final of the 2023 Huawei Information and Communication Technology Talent Competition for the Middle East and Central Asia region came to an end at the University of Bahrain. The activity aims to provide young students participating in the competition with opportunities for theoretical learning and practical skills such as 5G and artificial intelligence. Bahrain's representative for humanitarian and youth affairs, Nasser, stated that Bahrain values lifelong training and the development of education, and cares about the future of young people. Huawei's hosting of relevant competitions has laid a solid foundation for long-term cooperation between the two sides.

"Bahrain is one of the important members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), actively participating in and promoting GCC cooperation with China, and promoting the negotiation process of the free trade agreement between the two sides." Khalid Humadan, CEO of Bahrain's Economic Development Commission, told reporters that Bahrain has continuously improved its foreign investment laws and regulations, introduced a series of preferential policies such as "gold permits", and continuously optimized the foreign investment environment, Looking forward to extensive cooperation with global enterprises, including Chinese enterprises.
2024 marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bahrain and China. Khalid Humaidan said that over the past decades, China's economic development has made remarkable achievements, laying a solid foundation for Chinese path to modernization, and all countries in the world have benefited from developing cooperation with China. "China has a large number of powerful enterprises, and Bahrain hopes to cooperate with more Chinese enterprises. Bahrain has broad space for economic and trade cooperation with China."