"Dubai Hosts Beijing Forum Highlighting Chinese Investments and Opportunities"

20 Aug, 2024

"Dubai Hosts Beijing Forum Highlighting Chinese Investments and Opportunities"

Chinese investments in Dubai are gaining momentum in sectors like logistics, clean energy technologies, and artificial intelligence as China seeks to strengthen business ties with long-standing partners. The Dubai Business Forum-China, hosted in Beijing on August 21 and 22, aims to explore opportunities for boosting non-oil trade between the two cities. More than 50 Dubai-based companies and 350 Chinese companies are participating.

The UAE and China have seen growing economic cooperation, with non-oil trade between the two nations reaching Dh296 billion in 2023, up 4.2% from the previous year. Dubai alone accounted for $67.8 billion of this trade, with 5,100 Chinese companies operating in the emirate by the end of Q1 2024.

The forum highlights Dubai’s appeal as a hub for Chinese companies looking to expand into the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.

The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre saw a 25% increase in new Chinese companies setting up in 2023, while the IFZA free zone reported a sharp rise in Chinese firms. Recent agreements between Dubai Chambers and China Construction Bank, as well as the Dubai Financial Market and Shenzhen Stock Exchange, further underscore the strengthening ties between the UAE and China, particularly in investment and cross-border trading.