Dubai Courts China’s Next Tech Champions
When a little-known Chinese startup rented the cheapest-tier booth at a venture conference in Dubai last October, few took notice. Three months later, the company’s valuation had surged into the billions. That startup was DeepSeek, and its sudden rise has become an example of how Dubai is positioning itself as a launchpad for China’s next generation of global tech contenders.
The encounter took place at Expand North Star, a startup summit that last year drew more than 1,800 companies from 90 countries, said Saeed Al Gergawi, vice president at the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy. Rather than appearing with its peers at the China pavilion, DeepSeek was on its own, he said.
“The founders were there … We met with them very briefly. They’re very low profile. They just said, ‘Were here to explore,’” Al Gergawi said in a media interview on Nov. 24. “And then three months later, a few billion dollars [in valuation].”
The anecdote highlights the Dubai Chambers’ push to identify and court Chinese innovation as the emirate seeks to transform its economy through its Dubai Economic Agenda D33. With offices in Shenzhen, Shanghai and Hong Kong, the chamber is positioning Dubai as a global launchpad for Chinese technology firms ranging from drone logistics to artificial intelligence (AI).
Al Gergawi said that the chamber has expanded its scope beyond China’s top-tier metropolises to second-tier cities. Delegations have visited Jinan in Shandong province to assess manufacturing capabilities and Hainan to explore similarities in resource development models, finding that the island province’s development philosophy closely mirrors Dubai’s approach.
Chinese companies drawn to Dubai tend to fall into two camps, according to Al Gergawi. Some firms arrive eager to launch operations immediately, while others are nudged by venture investors and approach the market cautiously. Despite the signing of numerous memorandums of understanding, actual implementation can lag as Chinese companies — particularly those successful in their home market — adopt a research-heavy strategy to secure the right local partners.
The chamber aims to shorten this timeline. “We have been making it very easy for them to be able to meet the right partners, or as many partners they need,” Al Gergawi said. “So instead of them taking six months to deploy through introductions and meetings, we have shortened this period quite significantly.”
Al Gergawi cited the rapid entry of Keeta, the international brand of food-delivery giant Meituan. The company deployed drone delivery technology in Dubai less than a year after entering the market. This speed aligns with the emirate’s ambition to have drone delivery services cover 70% of the city by 2030. The D33 agenda aims to add 100 billion dirhams ($27.2 billion) annually to the economy through digital transformation and boost productivity by 50%.
Beyond attracting foreign direct investment, Dubai is pitching itself as a headquarters for global expansion. Al Gergawi pointed to CAFU, a local on-demand fuel delivery service that successfully expanded to Canada, launching new-energy-vehicle charging units in Quebec despite the climatic differences between the two regions.
China is already Dubai’s largest trading partner, but the relationship has room to deepen, particularly in technology and its commercial application, Al Gergawi said. By adopting more Chinese technologies and helping companies expand internationally, Dubai sees an opportunity to significantly expand ties with Chinese firms beyond trade, he said.
caixinglobal.com is the English-language online news portal of Chinese financial and business news media group Caixin. Global Neighbours is authorized to reprint this article.
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