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Dubai Chambers has published the full agenda for the Dubai Business Forum – China, an event set to take place in Shenzhen on October 14 and organised under the theme Momentum at Scale: Accelerating Shared Success, according to a statement from the body. The programme will connect Chinese investors and technology firms with opportunities in Dubai across artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, fintech, logistics and digital infrastructure as part of efforts to advance the emirate’s D33 economic agenda. Discussions will examine moving artificial intelligence from experimental stages to scaled commercial deployment that delivers measurable business outcomes. Senior executives from companies including BYD, Huawei Cloud, Baidu and Tencent Cloud are listed among the confirmed speakers for the gathering.
The forum represents the fifth international edition of the Dubai Business Forum and the second time it is hosted in China following the 2024 event in Beijing that attracted more than 800 business leaders, Dubai Chambers figures show. Organisers selected Shenzhen because of its established position as a centre for technology innovation and advanced manufacturing within the Greater Bay Area. Panels will address how Chinese capital can participate in Dubai’s technology ecosystem while enabling UAE investors to access Chinese private equity and venture capital channels. A dedicated dialogue will feature perspectives from the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy on supporting startups and commercialising innovations in a business-friendly regulatory environment.
UAE non-oil trade with China totalled $111.5 billion in 2025, an increase of 24.5 percent year on year that took the figure above $100 billion for the first time, according to Emirates News Agency statistics. The UAE currently registers more than 6,500 active Chinese companies that use Dubai as a launchpad for expansion into the Middle East, Africa and Europe, a Dubai Chambers assessment found. The Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy supported 582 startups in the first nine months of 2025 with artificial intelligence representing 21 percent of the total cohort and international firms accounting for 70 percent, chamber data places the share. These trends provide the backdrop for the forum’s emphasis on practical pathways for deeper technology and investment collaboration.
Eng. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, chairman of Dubai Chambers, will join Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, UAE ambassador to China, and Hadi Badri, chief executive of the Dubai Economic Development Corporation, in delivering keynote remarks at the event, the organisers stated. Rachel Xie, general manager for Tencent Cloud in the Middle East and North Africa, is scheduled to discuss scaling artificial intelligence across digital ecosystems while Saeed Al Gergawi, vice president for digital economy at Dubai Chambers, will outline the emirate’s startup support mechanisms. The agenda includes a session titled Smart Capital: China Tech Meets the Dubai Platform that will explore investment incentives and market access under the D33 framework. Additional segments will cover success stories of Chinese enterprises that have established operations in Dubai and expanded regionally.
Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, president and chief executive of Dubai Chambers, said in the statement that the forum will serve as a strategic platform to explore high-impact opportunities in sectors including the digital economy, emerging technologies, logistics and advanced manufacturing. The gathering aligns with Dubai Chambers’ broader international outreach that has included previous forums in London, Hamburg and New York. Participants will receive direct briefings on policy incentives, free zone advantages and partnership models that facilitate entry into high-growth markets spanning 3.6 billion people across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. The event will also feature curated business-matching sessions designed to convert discussions into tangible investment and trade agreements.
Dubai Chambers has framed the Shenzhen location as particularly relevant given the city’s leadership in areas that overlap with Dubai’s priority sectors such as smart mobility and digital supply chains. The programme will incorporate insights on regulatory developments that have enabled companies like ARIDGE, formerly XPENG AEROHT, to conduct manned flight demonstrations in Dubai and secure purchase agreements for hundreds of units across regional markets. Keeta Drone, the delivery arm of China’s Meituan, has similarly expanded in the emirate after obtaining a beyond-visual-line-of-sight commercial licence, according to Dubai Chambers reports on Chinese firm activity. These examples illustrate the practical outcomes the forum seeks to replicate through structured engagements between government officials and private sector representatives.
