DUBAI - The trade between China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) grew steadily in the past decade and is expected to reach $35 billion in 2011 despite the global economic downturn, thus placing the UAE as the second largest trading partner of China in the Middle East, a senior Chinese diplomat said Saturday.

China and the UAE have realized mutual political trust and accelerated economic and trade relations since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1984.

The trade volume grew at a speed of 35 percent annually in the past 10 years, said Chinese Ambassador to the UAE Gao Yusheng in an interview with Xinhua ahead of the official visit by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to the Gulf state.

Wen's visit to the UAE on January 16-18 will be the first by a Chinese premier since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries. During his visit, the two governments will sign a joint statement on establishing a strategic partnership between the two countries, which will become a guideline document for bilateral relations.

Statistics showed that the bilateral trade volume reached $32 billion in the first 11 months of 2011, rising 38.6 percent year-on-year. The export to the UAE grew 28 percent to stand at $24.3 billion while the import from the UAE soared 88.9 percent to $7.6 billion.

China is the second largest non-oil partner of the UAE and Emirates has become China's top export market in the Arab world, Gao said.

The UAE has traditionally been a gateway for Chinese businesses serving the Middle East. About 70 percent of the exports from China to the UAE were re-exported to countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council, Africa, and even Europe, which reveals the growing importance of the UAE as the region's trading hub, he said.

There are about 200,000 Chinese citizens living and working in the UAE, contributing to the development of the trade, infrastructure, energy and finance among others, Gao said.

The two sides have also witnessed in-depth progress of exchanges in the fields of culture and education. Two Confucius Institutes have been established in the UAE to promote the Chinese language and culture in the UAE so as to facilitate the mutual understanding and friendship between the two countries.

In the future, the Chinese side is willing to further expand areas for its cooperation with the UAE in such fields as energy, finance, telecommunications, project contracting and healthcare to better serve the two countries' common interests, the ambassador said.