China and the UAE have established close bilateral relations strengthened by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) first launched by President Xi Jinping in 2013. With the BRI, China aims to implement its foreign policy based on various factors, objectives, and alternative strategies that can be implemented. Using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method combined with questionnaire and interview methods, the researcher aims to determine the increase in bilateral cooperation and infrastructure development as part of China's foreign policy orientation towards the UAE through the BRI. This study found that national security is the main factor behind China's foreign policy, and infrastructure development is a priority goal in the existing factors. The alternative strategy that is a priority is the development of energy projects, which is also supported by China's ambition in developing energy infrastructure and the UAE as an oil and gas producing country and its commitment to producing renewable energy.
Pasaribu et al. (2025) studied this question.