Chinese people in the United Arab Emirates

Last updated
Chinese people in the United Arab Emirates
Total population
>370,000
Regions with significant populations
Abu Dhabi  · Dubai
Languages
Wenzhounese  · Cantonese  · Mandarin Chinese  · English
Religion
Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Islam

There are about 370,000 Chinese people in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as of 2025, according to the Chinese Ambassador to the UAE Zhang Yiming. [1]

Contents

Many Chinese expatriates hail from the Wenzhou region; they are mostly businessmen and merchants who run hundreds of commodity shops through the Emirates. [2] Chinese culture in the Emirates has a sizeable presence; there are many Chinese restaurants in Dubai. [3]

History

There were an estimated 7,000 Chinese nationals living in the UAE in 2000 and about 400,000 in 2022 according to the Chinese ambassador. [4] In 2025 he estimated that number at 370,000. [1] According to the Emirates News Agency there were more than 300,000 Chinese people in the UAE as of 2025. [5]

Dragon Mart

The Chinese-themed Dragon Mart is a set of two adjacent shopping malls in the China cluster of Dubai International City, a suburb of Dubai. [6] [7] It is 1.2 kilometre long and is the largest Chinese retail trading hub outside mainland China. [8] It includes the largest concentration of Chinese businesses in the UAE. [9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention to make Mideast debut in UAE in 2027". english.news.cn. Retrieved 2025-12-07.
  2. Yu, Ran (2010-02-09). "Chinese investors turn to Dubai". China Daily. Retrieved 2025-11-09.
  3. "Chinese Restaurants in Dubai".
  4. Yang, Fenggang; Giordan, Giuseppe; Cao, Nanlai, eds. (2020). Chinese Religions Going Global. Brill. p. 263. ISBN   978-9004443327.
  5. "300,000 Chinese residents reflect UAE's successful model of tolerance, economic empowerment".
  6. "Dragon Mart". Visit Dubai. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  7. "Dragon Mart Dubai: The complete guide". My Bayut. Bayut . Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  8. "Dragon Mart". Nakheel Properties . Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  9. Yang, Fenggang; Giordan, Giuseppe; Cao, Nanlai, eds. (2020). Chinese Religions Going Global. Brill. p. 263. ISBN   978-9004443327.