Mays Ibrahim (ABU DHABI)
The UAE and China have built a multi-sector relationship anchored in rapid trade growth, long-term investment flows and formalised strategic agreements that have expanded steadily since diplomatic relations were established in 1984.
Non-oil trade between the two countries exceeded $100 billion for the first time in 2025, climbing 24.5% year on year to reach $111.5 billion, according to Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade.
A year earlier, in 2024, UAE–China non-oil trade stood at about $90.1 billion, state news agency WAM reported, reflecting an annual rise of around 4% and a 48% increase compared to 2021.
The UAE is China’s largest partner in the Arab region, with about 60% of Chinese trade being re-exported through UAE ports to more than 400 cities in the Middle East and North Africa.
Forecasts for the relationship remain ambitious, with the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs projecting that bilateral trade could reach $200 billion by 2030.
The foundations of this trade corridor were laid in the early 2000s, when China’s accession to the World Trade Organisation accelerated its export growth.
This coincided with the UAE’s expansion of its logistics infrastructure, including Jebel Ali Port and a growing network of free zones. These developments positioned the UAE as a major re-export hub linking Asia with Africa and Europe — a role that has remained central to bilateral trade flows.
The two countries’ diplomatic ties were upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2012 and further elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2018 during a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the UAE.
That agreement broadened cooperation across energy, investment, aviation, infrastructure, finance, and technology, and aligned bilateral engagement with China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), its global infrastructure and connectivity programme.
Within that framework, the UAE has become an active participant in BRI-linked investment flows, including through sovereign and institutional partnerships.
Countries participating in this initiative account for about 88% of the UAE’s imports, 94% of its non-oil exports, and 92% of its re-exports.
WAM reported that the UAE has invested $10 billion in the UAE-China Joint Investment Cooperation Fund to support BRI projects in East Africa and signed 13 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with China in 2018 to invest in multiple areas.
Infrastructure cooperation is most visible in ports and logistics such as the COSCO Shipping Ports terminal at Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi, developed with Abu Dhabi’s AD Ports Group.
Opened in 2018 with a 35-year lease, the terminal serves as a key Belt and Road initiative hub, featuring the region’s largest Container Freight Station, with a capacity to handle 2.5 million TEU.
Chinese firms are also active across UAE industrial zones, including Jebel Ali Free Zone and Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi, operating in logistics, manufacturing, trading and distribution.
China stands as the UAE’s third largest contributor of foreign direct investment (FDI), with a value of $6.3 billion, according to a statement from the Ministry of Economy and Tourism (MoET) in 2024.
More than 14,000 Chinese business licences have also been issued in the UAE, MoET stated.
Energy cooperation is another key component of the UAE–China relationship, spanning both hydrocarbons and renewables.
In 2024, during high-level visits and exchanges, UAE energy giant ADNOC expanded cooperation frameworks with Chinese partners including CNPC and CNOOC, covering upstream oil and gas development, liquefied natural gas, refining and low-carbon technologies.
Meanwhile, ADNOC’s logistics arm has pursued agreements with Chinese shipbuilders to expand its tanker fleet capacity, part of a broader strategy to support growing hydrocarbon exports and strengthen supply chain resilience.
Abu Dhabi-based clean energy company Masdar deepened cooperation with Chinese firms across solar project development and investment.
A notable example is the 2-gigawatt Al Dhafra Solar Photovoltaic project in Abu Dhabi, in which Chinese manufacturers including JinkoSolar and developers such as JinkoPower played roles in technology supply and project participation, helping bring the facility to full commercial operation in 2023.
In 2024, Masdar also signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s Silk Road Fund during COP29 to explore co-investments in renewable energy projects across Belt and Road countries. The agreement outlines potential joint investment commitments worth about $2.8 billion, reflecting growing alignment between Gulf clean energy strategies and Chinese outbound green finance.
