Gulf Sovereign Wealth Funds Expand Direct Investment in China Across Strategic Sectors

Gulf sovereign wealth funds have consolidated their position as significant sources of state capital for China. According to data from Global SWF cited by China Briefing, China secured US$10.3 billion from state-owned investors in 2024, up 21 percent year on year, with 62 percent originating from Persian Gulf funds including the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Financial channels linking China and the Gulf region have widened through regulatory approvals and market partnerships. In May 2025, regulators approved QIA's entry into China Asset Management Co., while the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and Dubai Financial Market executed an agreement to expand cross-border ETF investing, joint listings, and fixed-income offerings. China's first two Saudi Arabia ETFs debuted raising approximately RMB 1.2 billion (US$169 million).

Policy adjustments by Beijing have supported this capital movement. Regulatory revisions to the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) regime in August 2024 streamlined account procedures, expanded eligible foreign-exchange hedging counterparties, and facilitated the repatriation of earnings. In February 2025, Beijing introduced an Action Plan designed to encourage reinvestment of profits and lift restrictions on domestic loans for foreign-invested firms.

Separately, a survey of 100 institutional investors managing $513 billion conducted by Pureprofile for Robocap revealed that 100 percent of respondents projected that both the UAE and Saudi Arabia will make significant progress toward becoming recognized global AI hubs, alongside growing commercial alignment with leading artificial intelligence ecosystems.