Follow the trade, investment and partnerships bringing China and the UAE closer together.
Abu Dhabi sovereign investor Mubadala Investment Company has signed an official sponsorship agreement with the Rolex Shanghai Masters tennis tournament. The partnership marks Mubadala's first sports sponsorship in Asia and its first collaboration with an ATP 1000 event. The sovereign fund has invested in China since 2015 and maintains an office in Beijing.
China's outbound direct investment into the UAE reached $2.6 billion, more than tripling compared to the previous reporting year and making the UAE the top Middle Eastern recipient of Chinese direct investment capital. Beijing-based China Securities obtained regulatory approvals to establish a regional office in the Dubai International Financial Centre, where Chinese banks now represent over 30 percent of total banking and capital markets assets. Concurrently, major Chinese firms including Sinopec, CNPC, CNOOC, CATL, and Envision Energy are slated to participate in ADIPEC 2026 in Abu Dhabi.
China's LNG imports are estimated at 5.3 million tons in September 2026, down 8 percent year-on-year amid high spot prices and Middle East war risks. Chinese state buyers are exploring long-term contracts bypassing the Strait of Hormuz while maintaining binding agreements with Qatar.
Abu Dhabi is advancing an infrastructure push dubbed 'Zero Hormuz' to reduce export reliance on the Strait of Hormuz. Led by Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed Al Nahyan, sovereign platform L'imad Holding is preparing to commit tens of billions of dollars to ports and logistics outside the chokepoint, particularly in Fujairah. The initiative follows moves to take AD Ports Group private at a valuation near $9 billion.
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