DUBAI -- Premier Li Qiang said here on Thursday that China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are good partners on the path of common development.

Li made the remarks when holding talks with the UAE's Vice-President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Noting that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the UAE, Li said over the past 40 years, the two countries have advanced bilateral cooperation in various fields in an all-round way and achieved positive results.

He said China has long placed the UAE as a priority in China's Middle East diplomacy, and stands ready to work with the UAE to forge ahead hand in hand, firmly support each other, consolidate the political foundation of bilateral ties, further strengthen cooperation in various fields, so as to inject new vitality into bilateral relations, achieve more results and deliver more benefits to their people.

Li pointed out that China and the UAE are good partners on the path of common development, and it is in the fundamental interests of both sides to strengthen cooperation and help each other succeed.

China is willing to share development opportunities with the UAE for better mutual benefit, Li said, calling on the two sides to further tap the cooperation potential, give full play to complementary advantages, expand the scale of economic and trade cooperation, and strengthen cooperation on infrastructure, new energy, digital economy and green economy to help realize each other's sustainable development.

The UAE is welcome to increase investment in China and China encourages enterprises to invest and do business in the UAE, Li added.

For his part, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum congratulated China on the upcoming 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and expressed admiration for China's tremendous development achievements.

He said that under the care and guidance of the two countries' leaders, the UAE-China relations have made great progress in recent years. The UAE government attaches great importance to developing relations with China and has always firmly adhered to the one-China policy, he added.

The UAE government is ready to take the opportunity of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties with China to further leverage its advantages, expand trade, deepen cooperation in such fields as investment, energy and education, strengthen people-to-people exchanges and push for new progress in the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said.