The Dubai Business Forum – China concluded in Shenzhen on October 14, convening 854 Chinese investors and business executives alongside 112 public and private sector delegates from Dubai. Organised by Dubai Chambers under the theme 'Momentum at Scale: Accelerating Shared Success,' the delegation was led by Chairman Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori and marked the organisation's largest overseas business mission to date. Supporting partners included the Shenzhen Chamber of International Commerce and the China Chamber of International Commerce Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce.
According to figures shared by Al Mansoori, non-oil trade between Dubai and China increased by nearly 23% between 2024 and 2025. Over the decade from 2016 to 2025, non-oil bilateral trade grew 118.4% from AED 166.4 billion to around AED 363.5 billion, cementing China as Dubai's largest global trading partner. Additionally, Chinese foreign direct investment into Dubai rose from approximately AED 1.2 billion to more than AED 3.4 billion between 2024 and 2025, with total Chinese FDI exceeding AED 24.6 billion across more than 300 projects from 2016 to 2025.
Active Chinese enterprises registered with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce reached 6,650 by late September 2026, more than tripling since 2016. Over 3,830 of these firms operate in trade and services, accounting for roughly 58% of all Chinese member entities.
The forum featured 22 speakers across 15 sessions addressing sectors such as artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, digital infrastructure, venture capital, and logistics connectivity. In a fireside chat, Dubai Chambers President and CEO Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah discussed Dubai's Agentic AI transformation programme, which aims to support over 295,000 private companies, deploy 100 specialised AI assistants over two years, and currently trains 14,000 businesses in AI adoption.
Sources
- Dubai Government Media Office · 2026-10-14
- Gemini News Search — China–UAE News · 2026-10-14
