CHINA and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) issued a joint communique in Dubai on Tuesday on setting up a relationship of strategic partnership.

    The statement, issued during Premier Wen Jiabao’s official visit to the UAE, hailed the progress made in bilateral relations.

    The document said friendly and cooperative relations between China and the UAE have been expanded and enriched continuously, bringing benefits not only to the two countries and two peoples, but also to regional and international peace, stability and development.

    Wen arrived in the UAE on Monday after concluding an official visit to Saudi Arabia. He visited Nepal on Saturday before flying to the Middle East. The trip will also take him to Qatar.

    Also on Tuesday, China and the UAE signed a currency swap agreement worth 35 billion yuan (US$5.54 billion), the People’s Bank of China said, adding that the deal was effective for three years and would boost two-way trade and investment.

    The PBOC said it was worth 20 billion dirhams, the UAE’s currency.

    In the first 11 months of 2011, trade between China and the UAE grew to US$32 billion in value, a rise of 38.2 percent on the same period of 2010, according to Chinese customs data. Chinese exports to the UAE, worth US$24.3 billion, dominated that trade.

    In another development, China’s Sinopec clinched an energy cooperation agreement with the UAE’s state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. on Tuesday.(SD-Agencies)