BEIJING, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), here Sunday.

Hailing the UAE as China's important and reliable partner in the Middle East, Wang said China stands ready to work with the UAE to implement the consensus reached by the two countries' leaders, deepen their partnership under the Belt and Road Initiative, promote cooperation in various fields, enhance people-to-people exchanges, strengthen cooperation on anti-terrorism and law enforcement, and bring the China-UAE comprehensive strategic partnership to higher levels.

Sheikh Abdullah said the UAE is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in trade, investment, energy, culture, education and third-market cooperation, and to work for closer coordination within the United Nations and in regional affairs.