China-UAE Ties Strengthen Amid Global Shifts: A Strategic Alliance.

The evolving ties between China and the UAE also provide proof of a reconfigured global order as the two countries seek to utilize their respective strengths in creating a bulwark against the West. For the past forty years now, the United Arab Emirates has been on the side of China and has developed cooperation in many spheres from military to technological. As such, the UAE has turned out to be an attractive partner both in terms of trade and investment that begs no need to be re-assured politically at a time when China is under pressure from the West. The burgeoning trade in goods apart from oil with China which was reported to be $80.6 billion in the year 2023 on the other hand, demonstrates that the economic diversification within the Gulf region is in tandem with the global economic aspirations of China.

The growing interaction between China and the UAE, in my opinion, is a tactical response to evolving changes within the global geopolitical sphere. The two have also managed to look beyond economic reasons and share a common approach of stability, and focusing on the long write. The United Arab Emirates appears to be purposefully cultivating the China-U.S. economic corridor due to the country’s so-called ‘sandwich’ stance towards the two powers. This partnership growth is in line with the foreign policy of the UAE, where there is an emphasis on economic activity rather than political or ideological goals, a tendency which other Gulf countries are likely to adopt.

With the growth of almost all new forms of relations, some problems arise, too. The US which has been the main strategic ally of the UAE for a long time, is cautious and even somewhat hostile towards the relationship that is developing between the UAE and China, especially regarding defense and AI industries. Washington’s recent actions which aim at this – designating the UAE with the status of a 'major defense partner'; increasing military assistance levels – indicates the existence of wider geopolitical dynamics at play. To some extent, the UAE will determine its future moves based on how it manages these competing powers, but the established relations with China will become a bigger factor in the country’s foreign and economic policy than it has ever been.