December 2 marks the United Arab Emirates (UAE) National Day. 

The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates to China hosted a celebration for the UAE's 48th National Day at Wanda Vista Hotel in Beijing on Monday, with a number of dignitaries in attendance, including Zhai Jun, China's special envoy on the Middle East.

A video outlining Expo 2020 Dubai was shown to the audience at the event, along with a Chinese Pavilion themed "Building a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind – Innovation and Opportunity." It was presented by Zhang Shenfeng, the deputy chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).

The expo is the first to be held in the Middle East and West Asia, which will be a defining moment in the UAE's collective future, marking a new era in prosperity stability and growth for the region.

In April, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai attended the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing. In July, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with visiting Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. And they two witnessed the signing of some agreements and memorandums of understanding.  

Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to China, said at the event: "This year saw a deepening of the 'comprehensive strategic partnership' between our nations. The strong bonds between our civilizations have long-lasting foundation dating back to the ancient silk road. As precious as the UAE-China relationship, these ties are embodied in this priceless 1,400-year-old Green-Jade-carved Camel on display here today, dating back to the Tang dynasty. We are now renewing these bonds for the modern era, as we build up from 70 billion U.S. dollars in UAE-China bilateral trade flows, targeting 100 billion U.S. dollars by 2020 and 200 billion U.S. dollars by 2030."

2019 has greatly advanced the UAE-China relationship in a number of areas. Technology advancement has seen a strong progression, for example, the Mohammed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence featuring Chinese academia and Chinese businessmen upon its board – a university that will deliver great strides towards understanding and advancements in artificial intelligence. 

In sectors such as logistics, Chinese wholesale company Yiwu will now be involved in a new 5.5 million square meters logistics station, the "Traders Market", storing and shipping Chinese goods from Jebel Ali port to the rest of the world and will be close to the Expo 2020 Dubai site. 

This year has also seen the United Arab Emirates celebrating the Year of Tolerance, encapsulating the vision of the UAE's late founding father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan who believed in a successful, tolerant and progressive society for all of its stakeholders. 

This extends to women, who make up a third of the UAE's cabinet, the majority of the UAE's civil service workforce, the majority of the country's university graduates, with the representation of women in the Federal National Council now at 50 percent.