The State of Qatar
Facts
Area: 11,521 square kilometers
Population: 2.76 million
Capital: Doha
National Day: December 18
Location: Qatar is located in western Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula.
Part of Doha, the capital city of Qatar (Photo: VCG)
Economy
GDP (2018): $188.3 billion
GDP per capita (2018): $67,800
Growth rate (2018): 2.7 percent
Imports (2018): $31.5 billion
Exports (2018): $83.8 billion
Currency: Qatari Rial
The Qatari economy heavily relies on oil and natural gas. Qatar is the world’s biggest producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas.
Head of state: Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
(Photo: VCG)
On June 25, 2013, Tamim became the emir of Qatar. Upon assuming his duties as the Qatari emir, he became supreme commander of Qatar's armed forces, chairman of the Supreme Council for Economic Affairs and Investment, chairman of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, and chairman of the National Security Council.
Bilateral relations between China and Qatar
China and Qatar established diplomatic relations in 1988 and established a strategic partnership in 2014.
In January 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani in Beijing, and they agreed to deepen the bilateral strategic partnership featuring mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, and common development.
The two countries have initially formed a new pattern of cooperation with oil and gas cooperation as the backbone, infrastructure construction as the focus, and finance and investment as the new growth point, Xi said, calling for the progress in cooperation in energy, infrastructure construction, high and new technology, and investment.
Participants fly kites during an international kites festival in Doha, Qatar, March 6, 2018. (Photo: VCG)
China and Qatar have seen smooth development in their economic and trade cooperation. The bilateral trade volume in 2018 exceeded $11.6 billion, a rise of 43.8 percent from 2017. China’s exports volume to Qatar was $2.48 billion, and China’s imports volume from Qatar was $9.14 billion. China imported 1.35 million tons of crude oil and 9.24 million tons of liquefied natural gas from Qatar in 2018. China mainly exported mechanical equipment, electrical and electronic products, and metal products to Qatar.
China and Qatar cooperate well in finance and tourism. In 2014, the two sides signed a currency swap deal. In April 2015, Qatar opened the first RMB clearing center in the Middle East. In July 2018, the two countries signed a mutual visa exemption agreement.