UAE is a Favored Destination for Chinese Travelers and Businesses

July 16, 2024

The latest trend in the travel industry is the rise of Chinese travelers to the UAE to visit the Gulf country for leisure or business opportunities. One of the destination areas, for example, is the new “Trader’s Market” at Jebel Ali Port and Free Zone.

China is the largest overseas market for Dubai and Abu Dhabi that have seen an increase of presence in the Chinese market but have also seen an increase of varied products the Asian country sends across the emirates.

The UAE has begun to build a close relationship with China and aims to capitalize on the annual trade volumes between the two states. A number of initiatives have been implemented as part of this endeavor, including the UAE-China Week that, according to the Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, will be held annually.

The UAE’s new strong ties and free trade agreements with China makes the country a key import and export partner for firms to be in the Emirates now and the future with the Arab country’s position as a hub for the Middle East. For China, it is a huge opportunity for businesses in the region and an immediate platform for growth.

China has become UAE’s biggest trade partner with over 200,000 Chinese nationals who live in the UAE and over 4,000 Chinese trading companies that run branches here. There has been rising interest by the Asian country to setup firms and businesses, but above all banks in the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), a free zone, where, in fact, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China and Bank of China have their Middle East branches based in the DIFC, as mentioned at XINHUANET.com.

As told by 7DNews.com, “Trade between all Arab nations and China has reached approximately $200 billion a year, with an annual increase of over 11%. Trade between the UAE and China is estimated at $50 billion or 25% of total Arab trade with China. Sixty percent of all Chinese exports to the Middle East are redistributed from UAE ports to other parts of the region.” ArabianBusiness.com confirms that the “UAE-China trade forecast to hit $70bn by 2020 as ties grow.”

 China President Xi ended his three-day visit to the UAE by signing bilateral trade deals that provide the two countries with an opportunity to integrate and maximize on foreign investment opportunities, said UAE International Investors Council’s secretary-general Jamal Saif Al Jarwan. China President Xi’s visit marks the beginning of a ‘new era of UAE-China relations‘ to bring economic growth and prosperity for both parties involved and great future opportunities for savvy entrepreneurs.