Supporting China and the growing Belt and Road Initiative

Bahrain and the Bahrain Economic Development Board strongly support China's vision of the Belt and Road Initiative to build a community of shared interests between the Arab world and China.

Located in the heart of the Middle East, Bahrain is perfectly positioned to carry this vision forward, said Khalid Al Rumaihi, chief executive of the Bahrain EDB. He also praised China's global stance on economic development.

"China is such a vital part of the world economy and we fully support Chinese development. I thought that the strong message sent by President Xi at Davos recently - committing to and praising an international approach - was hugely positive," he said.

Bahrain has been a trading outpost connecting the Gulf to the world for thousands of years, with maritime trade between the states in the Gulf Cooperation Council and China established as early as the eighth century AD. The Chinese pottery dating back hundreds of years, which is on display at the Bahrain Fort Museum, is evidence of this long trading relationship.

Bahrain traded pearls, dates, and copper along the ancient Silk Road. It also imported silk and musk from China.

Today, Bahrain is home to a large number of Chinese businesses looking to "go global" and take advantage of business and investment opportunities in the Middle East.

China and Bahrain are also committed to strengthening ties through high-level political, economic and trade visits.

Bahrain offers one of the most liberal business environments in the world, ranked first in the Middle East and North Africa region, and 18th globally, in the Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom Report 2016. Additionally, it has strong pan-GCC transport links, direct access to the GCC's largest economy, Saudi Arabia, as well as skilled workforces and low operating costs.

Bahrain also has the Gulf's most efficient processing of trade goods, with the shortest travel time between seaport, airport and logistics processing zones.

The Kingdom has an established track record of prioritizing economic and supply-side reforms to benefit the private sector, with a longstanding focus on access, value and agility for businesses based in the Kingdom.

Bahrain has been a regional financial center for over four decades, and has the largest concentration of financial institutions and funds registered and domiciled in the Gulf region.

It offers a talented pool of highly skilled, educated and experienced professionals in the financial services sector.

The Kingdom is ranked by the ICD-Thomson Reuters Islamic Finance Development Indicator as having the most developed Islamic financial market in the Middle East and the second in the world. As the global Islamic finance sector expands, Bahrain will continue to play a central role in its development.

David Parker, executive director of Financial Services at the Bahrain EDB, said: "We are proud to have been at the heart of the development of Islamic finance in the last few decades, but our focus now is on using that heritage to help shape the future of the industry."

The story is provided by the Bahrain Economic Development Board.