Chinese Corporate Expansion and Technology Deployment Accelerate Across Dubai

Bilateral trade between the United Arab Emirates and China reached $108 billion in 2025, establishing the UAE as China's largest export market and second-largest trading partner in the Middle East, according to official figures cited by China Daily. Chinese exports totaled $72.88 billion, while imports from the UAE were $35.12 billion. Chinese direct investment into the UAE stood at $2.6 billion in 2025, while active Chinese member companies registered with Dubai Chambers exceeded 6,650 by the end of September.

Chinese platform and logistics operators have expanded local physical and digital operations across Dubai. Meituan's international food delivery platform, Keeta, which entered the UAE in September 2025, deployed localized routing algorithms and delivery service operations. In logistics, J&T Express invested in an automated warehouse and sorting hub in Dubai Industrial City, aligning with the emirate's 10-year Dubai Economic Agenda launched in 2023.

Commercial technology applications have also entered public mobility. In March 2026, Baidu partnered with Dubai Taxi Co to launch Apollo Go, a commercial driverless ride-hailing service, following a March 2025 memorandum of understanding with the Roads and Transport Authority to test 100 autonomous taxis. Regulatory backing followed, including Dubai's autonomous vehicle framework introduced in November 2025 and new UAE federal rules approved in September covering vehicle inspection, licensing, and testing. Specialized fleet insurance was launched by Dubai Insurance in May.

Corporate integration has extended to training and education initiatives. Technology company Huawei incorporated its ICT Academy courses on artificial intelligence and cloud computing into official degree curricula at Zayed University's College of Technological Innovation in Dubai.