HH The Amir Meets Chairman of Standing Committee of Chinese National People's Congress

His Highness The Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met with HE Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People's Congress (NPC) Li Zhanshu at the People's Palace on Thursday morning.

At the beginning of the meeting, Li Zhanshu welcomed HH The Amir on behalf of the People's Congress and said that the Chinese side attaches great importance to His Highness's visit, expressing confidence that it will push bilateral relations forward to a new level.

He also said that the 2014 meeting between HH The Amir and HE Chinese President helped in raising the level of relations between the two countries to a strategic partnership, pointing out that the cooperation between China and Qatar is very good, and the volume of trade exchange between the two countries has increased since last year.

HE Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee hailed the State of Qatar's development which combines Arab heritage and modern civilisation and its economic diversification strategy to be a maritime and financial beacon in the Gulf region.

He also congratulated HH The Amir on the Qatari football team's victory in the Asian Cup, praising Qatar's rapid development in sports in recent years under the leadership of His Highness, and looking forward to a wonderful performance of the Qatari team in the final match against Japan.

For his part, HH The Amir expressed thanks to HE Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee for his words, noting that relations between the two countries have developed significantly and that the visit is an appropriate opportunity to promote them.

In the sports field, His Highness underlined the keenness of Chinese leadership in sports through the organisation of major sporting events such as the 2008 Olympics and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. HH The Amir also hailed China's cooperation with Qatar in the field of sports as there are some Chinese working in the Organizing Committee of 2022 World Cup Qatar.

The trade exchange between the two countries has increased over the past year and a half, expressing hope to further increase it in the coming years.

HH The Amir also underlined that Qatar has investments in China for its confidence in the Chinese economy, and that finding other investment opportunities is Qatar's future goal.

During the meeting, they reviewed the prospects of enhancing the strategic partnership between the two friendly countries in the fields of economy and trade through the Silk Road which links China to the region, as well as the parliamentary field. The two sides also discussed means of enhancing cooperation in the organisation of sports events and world championships, especially in Qatar's organization of the World Cup 2022.

The meeting also dealt with a number of regional and international issues, especially the current Gulf crisis, where the two sides stressed the importance of diplomatic dialogue between all parties.

The meeting was attended by Their Excellencies members of the official delegation accompanying HH the Amir.

On the Chinese side, it was attended by a number of Their Excellencies members of the People's Congress.