How Chinese EVs gives Beijing leverage in the UAE’s electric-driven post-oil future
Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) have been making a big splash in markets worldwide, with one major target for Chinese-made EVs being the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE is a prime location for Chinese EVs to enter the Gulf market, enabling increased regional credibility while providing a robust market for EV development.
The UAE also stands out as an investment opportunity for Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and other groups from an electric grid perspective, with China taking the lead on investing in a variety of different electric-focused infrastructure projects within the UAE. This is particularly advantageous for Chinese organizations seeking to increase China’s reach within the realm of strategic competition, with the UAE’s advantageous location to other Middle East countries and to Africa, another significant growth opportunity for China.
EVs signify just one of many avenues for Chinese involvement in the UAE’s future, with control over the UAE’s electric infrastructure becoming a significant lever as the UAE continues its transition away from reliance on its oil and gas-based past.
EVs as an economic entry point into the UAE
Consulting firm AlixPartners predicts that Chinese automotive brands will capture more than 33% of market share in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region by 2030. This represents a systemic shift in dependency, with the UAE currently standing as the second-largest export destination for Chinese vehicles, with over 41,000 new Chinese vehicles being sold from January to September 2025.
Infrastructure designed to support Chinese EV growth has prominently appeared in the UAE in the past year, with BYD unveiling the region’s first-ever plug-in hybrid pickup truck and flash-charging technology in September 2025. Around the same time, Chinese EV manufacturer NIO unveiled its battery-swapping station in Abu Dhabi, enabling batteries on EVs to be changed out in 3 minutes.
Other companies with significant EV inroads into the UAE include NWTN, who announced its AI Industrial Park Project housing an EV vehicle assembly plant to be located in the Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi (KEZAD) in May 2025, and Chinese luxury EV manufacturer ROX Motors, who stated their intention to manufacture vehicles in Abu Dhabi in May 2025.
These shaping operations illustrate how the UAE has become both a proving ground and a launchpad for Chinese EVs within the UAE and in the greater Gulf, tying existing Chinese capabilities with the UAE’s growing industrial base. As a result, Chinese EVs are clearly positioned both as EV importers and localized producers within the UAE, making future “de-risking” by other global partners significantly more challenging.
Chinese-led electric infrastructure projects in the UAE
Chinese firms have also taken a significant interest in developing the UAE’s electric infrastructure, working their way into the UAE’s EV market but also into its greater energy and transportation backbone. The ability to seamlessly integrate into all facets of the UAE’s energy grid highlights the opportunity for influence that Beijing can wield within the UAE.
For one, PowerChina has led the UAE in developing electric-focused infrastructure, with it being the lead engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor for the 1.5GWh Al Ajban Solar Photovoltaic Independent Power Project in Abu Dhabi. Furthermore, Etihad Rail, developer and operator of a national initiative featuring all-electric passenger trains, has received significant Chinese support. In fact, the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) and the China State Construction Engineering Corporation Middle East play key roles as one of the leading EPC firms involved in these initiatives, with awarded contracts to the CRCC alone being over $1.25b.
Therefore, the more intertwined Chinese firms go into the UAE’s grid and transport sectors, the more structural influence that China will gain into the technologies that will define the UAE’s post-oil economy. This is especially prevalent as these platforms are increasingly interconnected, resulting in an ecosystem that influences everything from data flows to supply chains.
Maintaining the UAE’s neutrality within strategic competition
From the perspective of the UAE, this heightened Chinese involvement in one of its most critical sectors is a continuation of its multi-aligned foreign policy. The UAE has long cultivated an ability to work with a variety of different partners, whether this be the United States, Russia, or China. This has resulted in the UAE framing itself as a neutral economic hub.
However, owing to the sensitivities around electric generation, the UAE has placed itself in a delicate position. On one hand, it must ensure that Chinese-built infrastructure remains fully under its control, especially when working with U.S. partners, who view infrastructure as inseparable from national security. On the other, the UAE cannot necessarily signal any specific preference for a nation-state’s EVs or electrical assistance, with its reliance on continued access to Chinese capital, know-how, and technology. China stands out as a clear partner, with its infrastructure knowledge and technical capability-building skills, particularly in light of President Trump’s continued deprioritization of renewable energies, to include solar and EV technologies.
With this in mind, the UAE could manage to use strategic competition to its advantage, preventing any type of overreliance on a single partner while still benefiting from its relationships with many.
Conclusion
All in all, China’s rapidly expanding EV and electric infrastructure footprint in the UAE is evidence of a new strategy focused around green statecraft. For China, the UAE offers its developed market, regional prestige, and a springboard into the region and beyond. For the UAE, Chinese investment and know-how enables it to accelerate its transition away from its oil legacy and into a green future, in accordance with its national-level strategies.
If the UAE can maintain this balance, it could greatly benefit from strategic competition. As a result, the UAE could shape the future of regional technology integration, leading the way via innovation in an energy-specific field analogous to its previous leadership in oil mining, refinement, and production.
However, if the UAE is unable to navigate this delicate balance successfully, its economic neutrality could become a key strategic vulnerability, especially as it seeks to transition to more renewable forms of energy.
Image Source: Arabian Gulf Business Insight
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