MANAMA, Bahrain - Bahrain and China signed an agreement on Sunday to build a Chinese-themed retail shopping mall that is expected to host 100 Chinese companies and businesses.

With a total leasable area of approximately 32,000 square meters, the shopping mall, dubbed Dragon City, will be completed by the year of 2014.

Marketed and managed by Chinamex Middle East Investment and Trade Promotion Center FZCO, Dragon City will be a large-scale trade platform with functions of product exhibition, retail and wholesale.

"This agreement comes as a concrete step that will promote cooperation between the two countries and solidify bilateral economic and cultural exchange," said an official from Diyar Al Muharraq, one of the largest mixed-use urban waterfront developments currently underway in Bahrain.