In recent years, the UAE emerged as a key player in regional and global development with significant contributions to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013.
The UAE’s active participation in the Belt and Road Initiative, which will hold its ninth summit in Hong Kong on September 11-12, in addition to its strong ties with China, underscores its commitment to economic development and international cooperation.
Non-oil trade surges
The UAE continues to make significant contributions to the initiative which now includes 65 participating countries representing 30 percent of the global gross domestic product (GDP). It has invested $10 billion in the UAE-China Joint Investment Cooperation Fund to support the initiative’s projects in East Africa and signed 13 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with China in 2018 to invest in multiple areas within the UAE.
The UAE’s non-oil trade with the countries within the Belt and Road Initiative reached $305 billion, which contributed 90 percent of the UAE’s non-oil trade during the first half of 2023, an annual growth of over 13 percent.
The Belt and Road Initiative aims to connect Asia, Europe, and Africa through land and maritime routes. The UAE, with its strategic location, has become a critical point in the success of the initiative.
Bolstering land and maritime routes
With a rise in the connection among countries participating in the initiative, the volume of trade exchange between the UAE and China reached $50.108 billion, including $18.66 billion in UAE exports and$31.448 billion in imports from China, according to data from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
UAE-China bilateral trade, investments
A closer examination of economic relations between the UAE and China highlights strong cooperation and coordination at all levels, with an 800-fold increase in the volume of trade exchange between the two countries since the establishment of diplomatic relations between them. The two countries aim to reach $200 billion in trade volume by 2030.
The two countries signed more than 148 bilateral agreements and MoUs in various fields, and the volume of the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade with China during the past year reached $81 billion, a growth rate of 4.2 percent compared to 2022, thus maintaining China’s position as the first trading partner of the UAE in its non-oil trade in 2023, accounting for 12 percent of that trade.
Between 2003 and 2023, the UAE’s investment flows to China amounted to $11.9 billion, covering sectors such as telecommunications, renewable energy, transport and storage, hotels and tourism, and rubber. Meanwhile, Chinese investment flows to the UAE totaled $7.7 billion during the same period.
Read: Qatar-Germany trade up 4.4 percent to $1.94 billion in 2023, says Chairman of Qatar Chamber
Hong Kong ties propel Belt and Road Initiative’s growth
While relations between the UAE and China have witnessed great strides of cooperation in all fields, the UAE’s relations with Hong Kong are of particular importance for the Belt and Road Initiative. Hong Kong, a special administrative region in China, plays a vital role in the initiative.
The UAE’s total non-oil trade with Hong Kong reached $12 billion in 2022, a growth of nearly 50 percent in 10 years. Meanwhile, foreign direct investment (FDI) from Hong Kong in the UAE reached $2.1 billion, mainly in retail and automotive, manufacturing, and transport and storage.
Hong Kong acts as a gateway for UAE companies to access the Chinese market and other parts of Asia. Both the UAE and Hong Kong are major financial centers with significant cooperation in areas including banking, insurance, and capital markets.
The UAE’s active involvement in the Belt and Road Initiative, supported by its strategic ties with China and Hong Kong, reflects its firm commitment to sustainable economic growth and international cooperation.
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