On April 13, 2026, the UAE-China Business Promotion Conference kicked off in China under the theme “From Vision to Value”, bringing together cabinet ministers, senior government officials and top industry executives from both nations to chart new paths for cross-border collaboration, investment and innovation. The high-level gathering was held alongside the official visit of Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, who led a senior UAE delegation to the country.
As a landmark outcome of the conference, delegates from the two sides signed 24 bilateral Memorandums of Understanding, a move widely expected to deepen and expand the already robust economic, trade and investment partnership between the UAE and China.
In his keynote opening address, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the UAE’s Minister of Foreign Trade, highlighted the critical role of the conference in fortifying bilateral cooperation and unlocking untapped growth opportunities for both economies. “The UAE and China share a decades-long, deeply rooted economic partnership, forged over years of collaboration and anchored in a shared commitment to shared prosperity,” Al Zeyoudi stated.
The minister also shared an encouraging milestone for bilateral trade: non-oil bilateral commerce between the two nations crossed the $100 billion threshold for the first time in 2025, surging by a record 24.5 percent year-over-year to hit $111.5 billion. “We will continue advancing close coordination across priority sectors to deliver sustainable economic outcomes that benefit the people and businesses of both our countries,” he added.
Current trade data underscores the strength of the bilateral relationship: China has retained its position as the UAE’s largest trading partner, contributing roughly 11 percent of the UAE’s total non-oil trade volume and holding the top spot as a source of UAE imports. For its part, the UAE remains China’s largest single trading partner across the Middle East and Africa, accounting for more than one-fifth of China’s total non-oil trade with the entire region over the past 10 years.
The conference was co-hosted by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade and China’s Ministry of Commerce, with co-organization support from the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Beijing and the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products.