Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's first visit to China

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed leads a major economic-focused delegation to Beijing

The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, arrived in China on Sunday April 12th for his first official visit. He’s flying home today.

A bit of background: Sheikh Khaled is the son of the President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ). He was appointed Crown Prince in 2023, and the assumption is he will follow his father as president. He did an undergraduate degree in political science at University of Arizona (2004) and a masters degree at Georgetown’s Walsh School of Foreign Service (2007).

Since becoming Crown Prince his international profile has been growing. In 2025 he represented the UAE at the BRICS summit in Brazil, APEC in South Korea, the G20 summit in South Africa, and Japan’s Expo 2025. According to Guo Jiakun in yesterday’s MOFA press conference, this is his first visit to China. Surprisingly, I haven’t been able to find any evidence of visits to the PRC before his appointment. When his grandfather Sheikh Zayed made his only visit to China in 1990, he brought along his his son MBZ and future ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashed Al Maktoum. So I’d expect there would have been similar travel for Sheikh Khaled earlier in his career to start developing that network. If anyone knows, let me know.

Xi Jinping and Sheikh Khaled Al Nahyan, Beijing April 14, 2026 (photo credit: PRC MOFA)

Given the war in Iran and China’s profile in the Gulf, some folks are wondering about the timing of this trip.