Dubai: The Dubai Business Forum – China concluded in Shenzhen with the participation of 854 high-profile Chinese investors and business leaders, alongside the largest overseas business delegation ever led by Dubai Chambers. The delegation included 112 senior representatives from Dubai’s public and private sectors, reflecting ongoing efforts to unlock new opportunities for trade, investment and partnerships between Dubai and China.
Held under the theme ‘Momentum at Scale: Accelerating Shared Success’, the forum was organised by Dubai Chambers, with the Shenzhen Chamber of International Commerce and the China Chamber of International Commerce Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce serving as supporting partners.
The event brought together 22 expert speakers across 15 sessions exploring opportunities for bilateral cooperation in future-focused sectors including artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, logistics, smart mobility, the digital economy and venture capital.
The Dubai Chambers delegation was the largest it has ever led to an event outside Dubai. The diversity of participating companies and the range of sectors represented underscored the importance of the Chinese market and highlighted the forum’s role in fostering meaningful economic partnerships.
During his opening address, His Excellency Eng. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Chairman of Dubai Chambers, said: “The relationship between Dubai and China is built on decades of engagement, cooperation and shared ambition. Mutual trust and closely aligned development visions have helped establish strong and growing trade ties between our markets. Today, the complementary strengths of the Dubai and Chinese economies create broader opportunities to move beyond established relations towards a more advanced phase of investment, innovation and shared value creation.
“We look forward to building on this momentum by expanding the connections between our business communities and encouraging partnerships that bring together Dubai and China’s capabilities and advanced technologies to support sustainable growth and advance our shared interests.”
He added: “China now ranks as Dubai’s largest trading partner globally. Non-oil trade between our markets has grown rapidly over the past decade, rising from AED166.4 billion in 2016 to around AED363.5 billion in 2025, representing growth of 118.4%. During the same period, Dubai attracted more than 300 foreign direct investment projects from China, with combined capital exceeding AED24.6 billion between 2016 and 2025.”
Al Mansoori continued: “The number of Chinese companies registered as active members of Dubai Chamber of Commerce has more than tripled since 2016, reaching 6,650 by the end of September 2026. Chinese companies now have an established presence across Dubai’s trade and services ecosystem, with more than 3,830 companies operating in these sectors, accounting for around 58% of all Chinese member companies. This reflects Dubai’s growing role as a strategic gateway enabling Chinese companies to trade, distribute and expand across multiple markets.”
He further noted: “The growing momentum between our economies is reflected in the progress achieved since our previous Dubai Business Forum – China in Beijing. Between 2024 and 2025, non-oil trade between Dubai and China grew by almost 23%, while Chinese FDI capital into Dubai nearly tripled during the same period, rising from around AED1.2 billion to more than AED3.4 billion.”
Strategic investment platform
The forum highlighted the opportunities created by the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33) for Chinese companies and investors, particularly in trade, investment, technology and innovation. It also showcased the strengths underpinning Dubai’s position as a strategic platform for Chinese and international investment, including its agile regulatory environment, advanced infrastructure and supportive business ecosystem.
Sessions also highlighted Dubai’s role as a commercial, logistics and financial hub that connects companies to regional and global markets and enables efficient business expansion.
His Excellency Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President and CEO of Dubai Chambers, participated in a fireside chat focused on Dubai’s Agentic AI transformation programme for the private sector, led by Dubai Chambers.
The programme aims to accelerate the adoption of Agentic AI technologies across Dubai’s business community, empower more than 295,000 private-sector companies and develop 100 specialised AI assistants over the next two years. Dubai Chambers is currently training 14,000 private-sector companies in Agentic AI to help businesses adapt to technological change and benefit from advanced smart solutions, further enhancing Dubai’s position as a global hub for the digital economy and future industries.
Integrating advanced technologies
Specialised sessions explored Dubai’s growing role as a real-world testbed for city-wide AI applications and examined opportunities to develop autonomous mobility solutions within advanced regulatory frameworks supported by innovation-friendly infrastructure.
Participants in a session on deploying AI at scale highlighted the importance of moving beyond pilot projects towards applications that deliver measurable commercial impact and strengthen companies’ ability to integrate intelligent technologies into their operations, services and business models.
Another session explored opportunities to strengthen two-way investment flows between Dubai and China, particularly in AI, fintech, advanced manufacturing and digital infrastructure. Discussions also focused on enabling Dubai-based investors to access opportunities across China’s private equity and venture capital markets, as well as innovation-led sectors, reinforcing Dubai’s role as a platform connecting capital with innovation and global expansion.
The AI economy
A separate fireside chat examined the foundations required to build an AI-driven economy, including advanced computing capacity, smart infrastructure and scalable digital ecosystems. Participants also stressed the importance of developing technological capabilities and specialised talent to support AI adoption across multiple sectors and strengthen Dubai’s position as a centre for innovation, technology deployment and knowledge-based growth.
Forum sessions also addressed the critical role of logistics connectivity and digital trade in supporting global business expansion. Participants discussed ways to create faster, more efficient and better-connected trade corridors linking Asia, the Middle East and international markets.
Discussions highlighted how integrated logistics infrastructure, ports, airports, digital solutions and AI-powered systems can facilitate the movement of goods and capital while supporting the international growth ambitions of Chinese companies.
A session on sustainable mobility explored opportunities created by combining the manufacturing and innovation strengths of Chinese companies with Dubai’s extensive regional and global connectivity. It highlighted the value of strategic partnerships in advancing electric mobility solutions, boosting consumer confidence and supporting the transition to a more sustainable economy.
The forum also showcased the experiences of global companies that have successfully expanded from Dubai into regional and international markets. Discussions focused on how Dubai’s flexible business environment, advanced infrastructure and global connectivity enable companies to scale their operations and diversify their activities.