In 2017, the UAE government invited a team from the Qingdao Saline-Alkali Tolerant Rice Research and Development Center to carry out a trial planting of rice in local deserts.
Under the leadership of China's "father of hybrid rice" Yuan Longping, the team of Chinese scientists overcame unfavorable local conditions through innovation to create technology for improving the soil of saline-alkali land. In 2018, the team achieved initial success in growing and harvesting rice in Dubai’s deserts, with the highest yield per mu (a unit of area that equals 667 square meters) exceeding 500 kilograms. This was the world's first successful rice planting experiment conducted in tropical desert conditions.
Major construction and infrastructure projects undertaken by Chinese companies have been featured on the bank notes of some Arab states.
The Great Mosque of Algiers in Algeria, the Lusail Stadium in Qatar, the new headquarters of the Central Bank of Kuwait, as well as the Merowe Dam, Roseires Dam and the Upper Atbara Dams Complex in Sudan, are among the projects that have been featured on the bills. These projects have achieved economic and social benefits for the populations of their countries, and have become an integral part of the countries they are in.
