RAK Ruler Concludes China Visit with Eleven Strategic Agreements

• Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi's six-day China visit yielded 11 strategic agreements across trade, investment, tech, education, and culture.
• RAK inaugurated its first overseas business consultancy in Guangzhou to facilitate Chinese investment into the emirate.
• The Ruler visited a flying car mass-production factory in Guangzhou, signalling interest in advanced air mobility.
• A landmark friendship agreement was signed with Fujian Province, covering economic, cultural, and academic cooperation.

• 2026 — Key year
• 40% — Notable rate
• 25 — Volume / scale

What were the headline outcomes of the RAK Ruler's six-day China mission?

His Highness Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, concluded a six-day official visit to the People's Republic of China on 25 October 2026. The delegation — comprising senior officials from the RAK Government, RAKEZ, RAK DAO, RAK ICC, and the RAK Investment and Development Office — signed 11 strategic agreements and memoranda of understanding with Chinese provincial governments, state-owned enterprises, and private sector leaders. The agreements span: (1) a comprehensive strategic partnership with Fujian Province covering trade, investment, tourism, education, and culture; (2) an MOU with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) to establish a RAK-China investment facilitation desk; (3) a technology transfer agreement with a Shenzhen-based AI and robotics consortium for RAK's Innovation City; (4) a cooperation framework with the Guangzhou Municipal Government on advanced manufacturing and air mobility; (5) an academic exchange pact between RAK Medical and Health Sciences University and three Chinese medical universities; (6) a cultural heritage agreement with the Fujian Museum Authority; (7) a food security MOU with COFCO Group for agri-logistics through RAK Port; (8) a green energy cooperation agreement with China Energy Engineering Corporation for solar and hydrogen projects in RAK; (9) a fintech sandbox linkage between RAK DAO and the Shenzhen Financial Technology Association; (10) a tourism promotion agreement with Ctrip (Trip.com Group) for Chinese visitor marketing; and (11) a vocational training partnership with the Chinese Ministry of Human Resources for RAK's industrial workforce.

What was the significance of the Guangzhou business consultancy and flying car factory visit?

A centrepiece of the visit was the inauguration of the "Ras Al Khaimah Business Consultancy — Guangzhou," the emirate's first official overseas representative office. Located in the Guangzhou Free Trade Zone, the consultancy will serve as a one-stop gateway for Chinese companies seeking to establish operations in RAK, offering market entry advisory, licence facilitation, banking introductions, and talent recruitment support. The office is staffed by a team of six, including Mandarin-Arabic-English trilingual advisors, and reports directly to the RAK Investment and Development Office. Separately, Sheikh Saud visited the Guangzhou headquarters of EHang Holdings, the world's first publicly traded urban air mobility company, which operates a mass-production facility for its EH216-S pilotless eVTOL aircraft. The Ruler witnessed a demonstration flight and discussed potential certification pathways for autonomous air taxis in RAK's airspace, leveraging the emirate's low-density terrain and the newly established RAK Advanced Air Mobility Regulatory Sandbox (launched March 2026). EHang's founder, Hu Huazhi, indicated the company is evaluating RAK as a regional assembly and demonstration hub for the Middle East and Africa.

How do these agreements advance RAK's Vision 2030 and what are the next steps?

The China mission directly supports RAK Vision 2030's pillars of economic diversification, knowledge economy, and global connectivity. The Fujian friendship agreement is particularly strategic: Fujian is the ancestral home of over 40% of the Chinese diaspora in the UAE and a major source of outbound investment. The agreement includes a joint investment fund (target size USD 500 million) focused on manufacturing, logistics, and digital infrastructure in RAK. Implementation committees for each MOU will hold their first meetings by 31 December 2026, with progress reviewed quarterly at the RAK-China Joint Committee co-chaired by the RAK Crown Prince and the Chinese Ambassador to the UAE. For businesses, the immediate takeaway is a formalised channel to access RAK's free-zone incentives — 100% ownership, zero tax, full repatriation — backed by government-to-government guarantees. The flying air mobility discussions, while early, position RAK as a potential first mover in the GCC for commercial eVTOL operations, with a regulatory sandbox already live and physical infrastructure (vertiports at Al Marjan Island and RAK Airport) in masterplan.