WASHINGTON (Realist English). The United States concluded that Chinese military personnel were deployed at a UAE military facility after American officers were denied access to part of the compound, two former senior US officials told Middle East Eye. The assessment — made around 2020 — pointed to members of China’s People’s Liberation Army being hosted at Zayed Military City in Abu Dhabi.
According to one person familiar with the intelligence, US officials began collecting additional information after access to a restricted section of the base was refused. The former officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to say how Washington confirmed the PLA presence or what functions the Chinese personnel may have performed. Both expressed concern that China could have used the site to gather intelligence on US forces stationed at nearby Al Dhafra Air Base, home to the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing just 20 miles away.
One of the officials said the arrangement resembled cases in East Asia where local governments permitted PLA access to strategic infrastructure in exchange for Chinese financial support. Chinese activity at Zayed Military City has not been previously reported, and it remains unclear whether PLA personnel are still present.
The episode underscores long-running US unease over deepening China–UAE military cooperation. In 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported that China was secretly building a military installation near Abu Dhabi. Although Emirati authorities publicly halted the project after US pressure, classified documents leaked in 2023 suggested construction had resumed. Beijing and Abu Dhabi later held joint air force drills in Xinjiang in 2024.
The UAE has cultivated close relations with US President Donald Trump and his advisers, even as Washington warns of growing Chinese influence in the Gulf. Last week, the Trump administration approved the export of tens of thousands of advanced AI chips to the UAE’s state-linked tech firm G42 and to Saudi Arabia’s Humain, a decision welcomed by the private sector but criticised inside the defence establishment.
US officials remain divided over whether the UAE can be trusted with sensitive American technology. Concerns intensified after Financial Times reporting that G42 had provided Huawei systems used by the PLA to extend the range of air-to-air missiles.
Despite such tensions, the UAE remains central to US regional power projection. Emirati bases have supported US counterterrorism operations, including strikes on Islamic State targets in Somalia. Diplomatically, Abu Dhabi has become Israel’s closest Arab partner since signing the Trump-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020.
The UAE was promised F-35 fighter jets as part of normalisation with Israel, but the deal stalled under President Biden amid concerns over Emirati–Chinese cooperation. Trump has recently signalled he would proceed with an F-35 sale to Saudi Arabia, though no decision on the UAE has been announced.
