Special to WorldTribune.com

Jordan, a leading Middle East ally of the United States, has signed a military cooperation deal with China.

The accord was signed on Sept. 9 during King Abdullah’s visit to Beijing, officials said, adding that the deal includes Jordan’s purchase of unspecified Chinese equipment.

“The meeting saw the signing of a military cooperation agreement between the Jordan Armed Forces and the Chinese army, worth 30 million yuan [$4.7 million] to provide JAF with military equipment,” Jordan’s official Petra News Agency said.

The deal was inked on the sidelines of the 2015 China-Arab States Expo in Yinchuan, the capital of Ningxia Hui autonomous region. The investment agreement between Jordan and China is worth over $7 billion and includes a $1.7 billion project to build Jordan’s first oil shale-fired power plant in the Attarat (southern Jordan) area.

Another major part of the deal was a $2.8 billion investment to construct a national railway network in Jordan.

Trade between China and Arab states has grown significantly in the past decade to reach $240 billion in 2014, compared to $25 billion when the Arab-Chinese Cooperation forum was launched in 2004.

In 2014, the trade volume between Jordan and China reached $3.6 billion and while the trade balance is tilted in favor of China, Jordan’s exports to China went up by 200 percent from the previous year. Those exports were mainly potash and phosphate, valued at around $300 million while the kingdom’s imports from China stood at $3.3 billion.

  2015 China-Arab States Expo, Key U.S. ally Jordan signs military deal with China, King Abdullah, WorldTribune.com