Chinese firms are increasingly anchoring themselves in Dubai’s free trade zones to navigate trade barriers and tap new markets as rising protectionism and supply-chain shifts impact global commerce.
Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), state-owned DP World’s flagship free economic zone at the western end of the city in the United Arab Emirates, hosted 507 Chinese companies as of November, nearly double the number in 2021.
The trend reflected how a Middle Eastern hub offered companies “neutral, stable and well-connected bases to operate across East-West corridors” in a slowing global trade environment marked by rising protectionism, said Abdulla Al Hashmi, chief operating officer of parks and zones at DP World in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
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“By combining ports, free zones and logistics parks, we support nearshoring and diversification, a model now being replicated in India, Africa and Europe.”
As supply chains diversified, businesses manufactured in China or Southeast Asian countries, added value through free zones and exported through the Gulf to strengthen resilience and improve lead times, Al Hashmi said.
Jafza hosts nearly 12,000 companies, serving as a re-export and value-add hub, and many Chinese firms have chosen it as their regional headquarters and assembly base.