The Abu Dhabi Chamber and the Shanghai Foreign Investment Development Board sign a memorandum of understanding to enhance economic and trade cooperation

The Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Shanghai Foreign Investment Development Council (Invest Shanghai) signed a strategic memorandum of understanding during the Chamber’s participation in the Abu Dhabi Investment Forum (ADIF), which was organized by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), in cooperation with Abu Dhabi Global (ADGM), and the Department of Economic Development – Abu Dhabi in the city of Shanghai.
The memorandum constitutes a qualitative step to translate the growing economic relations between Abu Dhabi and Shanghai into practical initiatives and projects that support business growth and expand mutual investments, and contribute to building sustainable partnerships between the business communities on both sides, thus enhancing the position of the two cities as global centers for trade, investment and innovation.
The memorandum was signed on the sidelines of the forum, which brought together an elite group of business leaders, investors and decision-makers from China, and reviewed Abu Dhabi’s investment potential, its advanced economic system, and its flexible regulatory environment, in addition to the promising opportunities in priority sectors and high growth.
The memorandum of understanding was signed by Ali Mohammed Al Marzouqi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Xu Feng, Chairman of the Foreign Investment Development Board in Shanghai.

The signing of the memorandum comes in light of the growing momentum in economic and trade relations between Abu Dhabi and China. Chinese companies operate in a wide range of sectors in the emirate, including trade, construction, manufacturing and financial services. New memberships of Chinese companies in the Abu Dhabi Chamber also recorded a growth of 85% during the year 2025 compared to 2024, which confirms the growing attractiveness of Abu Dhabi for Chinese investments and its role as a major business hub in the region.

The memorandum of understanding establishes a comprehensive cooperation framework that focuses on exchanging information related to business environments and investment opportunities, facilitating market entry, and enhancing investor services, in addition to organizing economic events and specialized forums that support communication between the business communities in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai.
Areas of cooperation also include joint promotion of investment, benefiting from the two parties’ external networks and offices, and organizing mutual trade missions, which contribute to exploring new opportunities of mutual benefit and strengthening economic ties between the two sides.

Strategic partnership
Ali Mohammed Al Marzouqi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “The memorandum of understanding with the Shanghai Foreign Investment Development Council represents an important milestone in the process of strengthening the economic partnership between Abu Dhabi and China, and translating the growing relations between the two sides into initiatives and projects that create real value for the two business communities. Through this partnership, we seek to build more effective channels of communication and cooperation between investors and companies in both markets, which contributes to stimulating mutual investments and expanding the scope of commercial opportunities.”
He added: “The Abu Dhabi Chamber continues its role in enabling the private sector to benefit from promising global opportunities and enhance its openness to strategic, high-growth markets. This memorandum is consistent with our efforts aimed at consolidating Abu Dhabi’s position as a global center for business and investment, and a main gateway for companies wishing to expand regionally and internationally.”

For his part, Xu Feng, Chairman of the Shanghai Foreign Investment Development Board, said: “We are pleased to establish an institutional framework that supports our strategic partnership with the Abu Dhabi Chamber and strengthens economic ties between Shanghai and Abu Dhabi. This memorandum will contribute to expanding the scope of the exchange of experiences and investment opportunities between the two sides, enabling companies to achieve growth and benefit from the opportunities offered by the accelerating global economy. We look forward to translating this partnership into tangible results and joint projects that benefit the business communities in the two cities.”