Six oil-rich Arab countries compose the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC): Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). These countries, all committed to transitioning from oil, offer important opportunities for Chinese business as they diversify their economies. In his keynote speech at the China-GCC Summit in 2022, President Xi Jinping summarized the case for economic collaboration:

“China has a vast consumer market and a complete industrial system, while the GCC, with rich energy resources, is embracing diversified economic development. This makes the two sides natural partners of cooperation,” he said.

All the GCC countries have been supported by China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with transportation and other infrastructure projects, and China has engaged diplomatically with all of them. Yet one of these countries — the UAE — stands out for the extraordinary growth in its trade and its expansive financial cooperation with China.

Bilateral nonoil trade between China and the UAE, around $22 billion in 2014, more than quadrupled in value to $102 billion in 2024. UAE-China financial cooperation, by far the most advanced and diversified in the GCC, includes banking, investment, financial infrastructure, and currency cooperation. Important joint investments have sprung up in renewable energy, real estate, and infrastructure; a number of Chinese financial institutions have opened branches in the Dubai International Financial Centre.

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What makes such economic achievements even more extraordinary is that the UAE has only a tiny population of citizens. Of its total population of 9.5 million, the huge majority of residents are foreign workers and expats: Emirati citizens total merely 1.2 million.

One further demographic fact helps explain the rapid development of China-UAE economic relationships: More than 300,000 Chinese are residents of the UAE. Most of these residents first experienced life there as tourists, but now they are part of the local economy, often working for Chinese businesses with branches in Dubai or Abu Dhabi.

The number of Chinese tourists in the UAE has almost quadrupled over the past decade, from around 275,000 in 2014 to more than 1 million today. No other GCC country comes close to the UAE in attracting so many Chinese visitors. Not only do some of these tourists decide to live and work in Dubai, but many more return to China with deepened understanding of Emiratis and their society.

During his state visit to the UAE in July 2018, President Xi emphasized the advantages of tourism and other people-to-people contact. “Through tourism, education, and media cooperation, we will deepen mutual understanding and friendship between our peoples,” he said.

By creating multitudes of people-to-people contacts, tourism promotes joint ventures: For example, a Chinese tourist meets and becomes a partner of a UAE business owner, who is then encouraged to invest in China. But tourism also fosters deeper cultural and societal relationships between countries, with benign consequences for both.

Over the past decade, UAE government revenues have burgeoned from Chinese tourism; local businesses and employment opportunities have grown markedly; and modern infrastructure developments (airports, roads, public transport, communications technologies) built for tourists have greatly benefited the broader economy.

One result is that UAE consumers, enriched by such economic growth, are able to buy more goods from China: Imports from China to the UAE, which were around $14 billion in 2014, rose to around $66 billion in 2024. Similarly, UAE investment in China and the number of UAE companies operating in China have surged. In economic terms, tourism is a clear win-win process.

Ask any Chinese tourist in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, and they will tell you that they have enjoyed rewarding, once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Tourists come home to tell their stay-at-home neighbors how they went to the top of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building; shopped in the globally famous Dubai Mall; relaxed in a luxury resort on the Palm Jumeirah; visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque; or saw the masterpieces in the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

Surprisingly, however, few of the million-plus Chinese tourists to the UAE take the opportunity to visit neighboring Arab countries. Only 140,000 Chinese tourists went to Saudi Arabia in 2024, despite direct flights from China to Riyadh and despite the fact it is only a two-hour flight from Dubai. Moreover, Saudi Arabia has its own spectacular attractions: Al Balad, a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the Edge of The World, a hiker’s paradise; al-Ula, the ancient oasis city; the Red Sea’s splendid beaches; and the amazing modern architecture and cultural splendors of Riyadh.

Even fewer Chinese tourists visited Oman, despite the fact that the UAE shares a border with Oman and despite direct flights there from China. Every one of Oman’s spectacular natural and cultural sites is easily accessible from the UAE: Muscat, once the capital of a great Arab empire, is home to architectural marvels; Wahiba Sands provides an experience of Bedouin desert culture; Salalah is the center of a unique rainy area where frankincense is harvested; Masirah Island has pristine beaches and nature reserves; and bustling markets such as the Muttrah Souq offer traditional local wares.

Culturally, it is a shame that so few Chinese tourists visit Saudi Arabia and Oman to experience their cultural sites and the warm Arab hospitality of the Saudi and Omani people. Economically, it means that Chinese business and trade with these important Arab countries has not taken off as quickly or developed the same rapid financial integration as with the UAE.

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It is good economic news, therefore, that the governments of both Saudi Arabia and Oman are committing billions of dollars to boosting tourism to their countries and that both are sharply focused on increasing the number of tourists from China. They have learned the clear lesson of the UAE’s spectacular economic development: The people-to-people exchanges that tourism makes possible are the “secret sauce” that grows Chinese-Arab business.

The author is former consul general of Egypt to the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.