The UAE gave China technology to enhance the range of air-to-air missiles, US intelligence agencies learned in 2022, according to a report by The Financial Times.
The technology was provided to China by G42, the Gulf state’s premier AI group, which is chaired by UAE national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
The FT report, published on Saturday, cited two sources, saying the G42 technology was passed on to the Chinese technology company Huawei.
Two sources told the UK newspaper that the technology was used to upgrade China’s PL-15 and PL-17 air-to-air missiles, giving them an edge over the US.
Two of the sources who spoke to the FT said the technology G42 provided Huawei included software to optimise the flight of the missiles.
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The report said it was unclear whether G42 knew the technology would be used by China’s People’s Liberation Army.
While the UAE may not have broken any laws, US officials who became aware of the transaction debated how it should inform cooperation with the wealthy Gulf state at the time.
The technology was advanced enough that US officials believe it will give Chinese fighter jets more time to target American fighters in any war over Taiwan. Technology that is not explicitly linked to weapons systems but can be used in them is considered dual-use, and the US places export restrictions on their sale abroad.
US-UAE
Ties between the UAE and the Biden administration were frayed in 2022 over differences in the Middle East and Europe.
Biden officials singled out the UAE for allowing Russia to side-step US sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, the UAE was upset over the US response to drone attacks on the Emirates by Yemen’s Houthis.
The year before, the Biden administration pressured the UAE to halt construction on a Chinese port project near Abu Dhabi over suspicions it had potential military purposes. Leaked intelligence that was shared on the Discord messaging platform in 2023 suggested that construction of the base was ongoing despite American lobbying.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has generally enjoyed better ties with the UAE.
However, Middle East Eye reported in May that Trump’s brief visit to the UAE, compared with his longer stays in Saudi Arabia and Qatar during his Gulf tour, reflected some US officials’ concerns about the UAE’s closeness to China, particularly in technology.
The UAE agreed to buy hundreds of thousands of Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips in May, when Trump visited the country. The deal, however, has faced several delays.
Earlier this month, several news outlets reported that the US approved the export of billions of dollars in AI chips to the UAE.
The original agreement signed between the US and UAE envisioned the Gulf state purchasing up to 500,000 of Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips annually, starting in 2025. Of that amount, 400,000 would go to data centres and AI projects managed by US firms inside the UAE.
But a big slice, 100,000 chips, was intended to go directly to G-42. According to Bloomberg, the initial licence does not include any chips for G-42. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that US officials want to cut off direct access to chips for G42.