People watch a performance during the Amman City Day celebrations in Amman, Jordan, on March 2, 2023.(Photo: Xinhua)

China and Jordan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on jointly promoting the construction of the Belt and Road on Wednesday, according to a statement released by the Chinese Embassy in Jordan on Thursday. 

The MoU was signed by Chen Chuandong, Chinese ambassador to Jordan, and Zeina Toukan, Jordanian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation in Amman, Jordan.  

China and Jordan are natural partners in the construction of the Belt and Road and close partners in modernization as 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Chen said. 

The signing of the MoU will strengthen the connection between the BRI and Jordan's economic vision for modernization, Chen said. He added that the MoU will also advance the bilateral cooperation in policy communication, infrastructure ties, trade, financial integration, and people-to-people exchanges, while providing an action guide for deepening practical cooperation in various aspects and better benefit the people of the two countries.

In the first eight months of 2023, the bilateral trade totaled $3.95 billion, according to China's Foreign Ministry. China mainly exports electromechanical products, communication equipment, textile and clothing to Jordan, while importing potash fertilizer from Jordan. 

Meanwhile, Chinese cars took a majority share of Jordan's imported electric vehicles market in the first half of 2023, the Xinhua News Agency reported in July.

Some 16,000 foreign-made EVs entered a major free-trade zone in Jordan's central governorate  of Zarqa, said Jihad Abu Nasser, secretary and representative of the vehicle sector in the Jordan Free Zone Investor Commission, according to Xinhua. 

Nasser said that around 80 percent of the 16,000 EVs were manufactured in China, adding that China-made EVs have proven their performance and worth in the Jordanian market, especially over the past two years due to their trade-off between affordability, performance and reliability. 

Global Times