17 September 2026
DMCC, the Dubai free zone and business district, now hosts more than 1,000 Chinese companies after its Chinese business community grew 9.4 per cent over the past 12 months, according to figures DMCC released on 17 September 2026. More than 60 per cent of these companies work in three clusters: energy, engineering and machinery, and technology and telecommunications. The numbers were published as DMCC closed its Made For Trade Live roadshow in Shanghai, Wuxi and Xi’an, where it signed agreements with the Xi’an Chamber of Commerce (CCOIC) and the Shanghai Pudong Service Center for Overseas Investment (SPOI). The backdrop is a record year for bilateral trade: UAE-China non-oil trade reached USD 111.5 billion in 2025, up 24.5 per cent year-on-year.
What DMCC reported on 17 September 2026
The headline figure is growth of 9.4 per cent in the number of Chinese companies based in DMCC over the last 12 months, on a base that is now above 1,000 firms. DMCC did not publish an exact total or a split by individual sector. What it did disclose is the concentration: over 60 per cent of its Chinese members operate across energy, engineering and machinery, and technology and telecommunications. DMCC says this mix reflects the increasingly industrial and technology-led nature of commercial ties between China and Dubai.
Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DMCC, linked the growth to the trade figures. “UAE-China trade reached record levels in 2025, and this momentum is increasingly reflected in the number and profile of Chinese companies scaling internationally through Dubai,” he said. He called energy, engineering, advanced machinery and technology “the industries that will play a major role in shaping the next phase of global trade” and said the objective is to help more Chinese companies scale through Dubai with “the platform, infrastructure, and networks they need to reach some of the world’s fastest-growing markets”.
The 1,000 mark itself is not new. DMCC first announced it on 23 October 2025, at the end of an earlier Made For Trade Live roadshow in Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou. At that point the free zone reported growth of more than 16 per cent in Chinese companies over the preceding 12 months and five consecutive years of double-digit annual growth, including 19 per cent in 2022, 21 per cent in 2023 and 17 per cent in 2024. It also counted more than 130 Chinese technology companies inside a DMCC technology community of over 3,400 firms. The 9.4 per cent published now is measured on that larger base.
DMCC runs dedicated ecosystems for commodities such as gold, diamonds, tea and coffee, as well as for energy, technology, AI, crypto and financial services. We looked at one of the newer ones in our note on the DMCC lab-grown diamond vertical.
Three cities, three sector agendas
DMCC matched the stops of the roadshow to the profile of its existing Chinese members. Each city had its own agenda:
- Shanghai: global trade, finance and technology.
- Wuxi: advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence and industrial technology.
- Xi’an: energy, engineering and advanced industry.
According to DMCC, the roadshow brought together more than 700 Chinese business leaders and connected them with options to establish and scale international operations from Dubai, with a focus on markets in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. The October 2025 edition in the Yangtze River Delta briefed more than 750 business leaders. Outside the roadshows, DMCC says it has built relationships in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Wuhan and Zhengzhou and engages regularly with Chinese trade, technology and investment platforms.
In Shanghai, DMCC also held a roundtable timed to the launch of the Chinese-language edition of its Future of Trade 2026 report, which looks at the changing geography of global commerce. The research puts South-South trade at around 35 per cent of global trade, compared with approximately 25 per cent for traditional North-North flows. DMCC says this underscores the growing commercial importance of corridors connecting Asia, the Middle East, Africa and other high-growth economies.
The two agreements signed in Shanghai and Xi’an
The institutional part of the trip consists of two agreements, listed in the DMCC release as memoranda of understanding:
- with the Xi’an Chamber of Commerce (CCOIC);
- with the Shanghai Pudong Service Center for Overseas Investment (SPOI).
According to DMCC, both agreements establish frameworks to deepen trade and investment cooperation, facilitate business matching and commercial exchanges, and strengthen direct links between companies in Dubai, Shanghai and Xi’an. DMCC did not disclose financial terms, timelines, the format of the business matching or how companies can apply to take part. Until those details are published, the agreements are a cooperation channel rather than a programme with a defined procedure.
The trade numbers behind the corridor
The growth in DMCC sits inside a wider set of official figures on UAE-China business. In April 2026, at the UAE-China Business Promotion Conference in Beijing, Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, said non-oil trade between the two countries passed USD 100 billion for the first time in 2025 and reached USD 111.5 billion, a record annual growth of 24.5 per cent. A total of 24 agreements were announced at that conference, which was held during the official visit to China of Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
| Indicator | Figure | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese companies in DMCC | More than 1,000 | DMCC, 17 September 2026 |
| Growth over the last 12 months | 9.4% | DMCC, 17 September 2026 |
| Share in energy, engineering and machinery, technology and telecoms | Over 60% | DMCC, 17 September 2026 |
| Growth reported a year earlier | More than 16% | DMCC, 23 October 2025 |
| UAE-China non-oil trade in 2025 | USD 111.5 billion, up 24.5% | UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, April 2026 |
| New Chinese members of Dubai Chamber of Commerce in 2025 | 1,583, up 7% | Dubai Chambers, April 2026 |
The Dubai Chamber figure comes from a separate register and covers new members across the whole emirate, not only DMCC. The next event in that channel is covered in our note on the Dubai Business Forum in Shenzhen on 14 October 2026, and the wider trade picture is in our report on UAE non-oil trade in the first half of 2026. In its October 2025 release, DMCC also said that it accounts for 15 per cent of Dubai’s annual foreign direct investment inflows and around 7 per cent of the emirate’s GDP.
What changes for companies, and what does not
Nothing in the 17 September announcement changes licensing, fees, visa quotas or tax treatment in DMCC or anywhere else in the UAE. The news consists of a statistic and two cooperation agreements. What it does show is the profile of Chinese companies now arriving in Dubai: most of them are industrial and technology businesses, and so are many of their counterparties, suppliers and service providers here.
For a company planning a UAE entity with Chinese shareholders, or a UAE company building a supply chain with Chinese partners, the preparation list stays the same:
- Decide where your customers are. A free zone licence suits international trade and regional headquarters, while regular sales to customers on the UAE mainland usually call for a mainland licence or a local distributor. Our comparison of mainland and free zone companies in the UAE sets out the trade-offs.
- Match the licence activities to the real business. Energy, engineering, machinery and technology activities are separate entries in the activity lists, and the choice affects office requirements and the number of visas available.
- Prepare the corporate documents of the foreign parent early: certificate of incorporation, articles of association, board resolution and passports of shareholders and directors, legalised and translated for use in the UAE.
- Treat the corporate bank account as a separate project. Banks review the full ownership chain and the source of funds, and for groups with shareholders abroad this step often takes longer than the licence itself.
- If you are looking for Chinese partners, keep an eye on the SPOI and Xi’an Chamber channels, but wait until DMCC publishes how business matching will work before building plans around it.
How Atlant Capital can help
We support companies entering the UAE from the first structural decision to a working entity. That covers the choice between a free zone such as DMCC and the mainland, the selection of activity codes, company setup in Dubai and across the UAE, the preparation and legalisation of the corporate documents of a foreign parent, and opening the corporate bank account once the licence is issued. If you want the full sequence before you commit, our guide to company formation in the UAE lays out the options, documents and timelines step by step.
Conclusion
The Chinese community in DMCC passed 1,000 companies in October 2025 and grew 9.4 per cent over the 12 months to September 2026, with more than 60 per cent of those businesses in energy, engineering and machinery, and technology and telecommunications. The roadshow in Shanghai, Wuxi and Xi’an added two cooperation agreements aimed at business matching, with no published terms so far. UAE-China non-oil trade reached a record USD 111.5 billion in 2025. For companies working in this corridor, the tasks are unchanged: the right licence, complete and legalised documents, and a bank account that is ready before the first contract is signed.
Source: Zawya (WAM), DMCC.
FAQ
How many Chinese companies are registered in DMCC?
More than 1,000 Chinese companies are based in DMCC as of September 2026, after growth of 9.4% over the past 12 months. Over 60% of them work in energy, engineering and machinery, and technology and telecommunications. DMCC first reported passing the 1,000 mark in October 2025.
What is the value of UAE-China non-oil trade?
UAE-China non-oil trade reached USD 111.5 billion in 2025, a record annual growth of 24.5%. It was the first time the figure passed USD 100 billion, according to Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, speaking in Beijing in April 2026.
Which agreements did DMCC sign in China in September 2026?
During its Made For Trade Live roadshow in Shanghai, Wuxi and Xi’an, DMCC signed memoranda of understanding with the Xi’an Chamber of Commerce (CCOIC) and the Shanghai Pudong Service Center for Overseas Investment (SPOI). They set frameworks for trade and investment cooperation, business matching and commercial exchanges. No financial terms or timelines were disclosed.
Does the DMCC announcement change the rules for setting up a company in DMCC?
No. The 17 September 2026 announcement is a statistic and two cooperation agreements, and it does not change licensing, fees, visa quotas or tax rules. Companies still follow the standard route: choose a free zone or mainland licence, select the activities, register the entity and open a corporate bank account.
