Shaping the future: Advancing digitalisation through China-Gulf collaboration

In partnership with the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB), Asia House is organising a virtual roundtable to explore growing digital cooperation between China and the Gulf.

Digital cooperation is a key component of accelerating China-Gulf trade, creating opportunities for Chinese and Gulf businesses across several fields, including AI, data, fintech, and smart cities. Collaboration is driven by mutual recognition of digitalisation’s ability to increase productivity, foster innovation, and generate new pathways for economic growth.

In an era defined by rapid technological advancement, China-Gulf collaboration will be key to shaping the future of digitalisation. AI is the newest avenue of cooperation, with several partnerships and Joint Ventures brokered to realise AI’s transformative potential in both regions. Fintech is another cornerstone of digital cooperation, with mutual investment and burgeoning start-up ecosystems creating partnerships in diverse areas such as payments, blockchain, digital assets, and CBDCs. Chinese digital technologies are also being deployed to build the Gulf’s next generation of smart cities and giga-projects.

This roundtable will convene key experts and business leaders across China and the Gulf’s digital economies to explore the burgeoning synergies in digitalisation; trouble-shoot how cooperation can be enhanced to drive economic growth and societal progress; and discuss how companies can realise the opportunities emerging from growing China-Gulf ties.

Professor Sun Tianshu, Dean’s Distinguished Chair Professor of Information Systems and Director of the Center for Digital Transformation at CKGSB, will share his insights on China’s digital transformation and outlook for further cooperation between the two regions.

This off-the-record, virtual roundtable will be moderated by Asia House Chief Executive Michael Lawrence OBE. For more information, please contact Freddie Neve, Senior Middle East Associate: freddie.neve@asiahouse.co.uk