Chinese cloud companies are quietly gaining momentum in the battle with their U.S. counterparts for the Middle East’s digital infrastructure.
在与美国云服务商的竞争中，中国云企业正悄然占据中东数字基础设施市场的主导地位。
Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Oracle spent years building regional tech ecosystems with data centers across the Gulf. In recent years, however, Huawei and Alibaba have outmaneuvered them by aligning more closely with local government priorities. Besides offering competitive pricing, Chinese cloud giants have entered into strategic partnerships and tailored their solutions to address specific security and sovereignty concerns.
亚马逊、微软、谷歌和甲骨文曾耗费多年在波斯湾地区构建技术生态系统，并建立了多个数据中心。但近年来，华为和阿里巴巴通过更精准地对接当地政府的发展重点，成功实现了弯道超车。这些中国云服务巨头不仅提供更具竞争力的价格，还通过建立战略合作关系、量身定制解决方案等方式，有效应对了当地对数据安全和国家主权的特殊关切。
Chinese providers are investing in infrastructure and skills development and expanding technology partnerships.
中国企业正加大基础设施投入、培养技术人才，并积极拓展科技合作伙伴关系。
“Chinese providers are investing in infrastructure and skills development and expanding technology partnerships, gradually gaining market traction in the cloud space,” Manish Ranjan, software and cloud research director for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at market research company IDC, told Rest of World. “Despite the established dominance of AWS [Amazon Web Services], Azure, and Google Cloud in the Middle East, Chinese providers like Huawei and Alibaba are making a significant presence in the region.”
"中国科技企业正持续投入基础设施建设和人才培育，深化技术合作，逐步在云计算领域打开市场局面，"市场研究机构 IDC 欧洲、中东及非洲地区软件与云计算研究总监马尼什·兰詹向《Rest of World》表示。"尽管亚马逊云服务(AWS)、微软 Azure 和谷歌云在中东市场占据绝对优势，但华为、阿里巴巴等中国云服务商正在该地区快速建立重要影响力。"
U.S. cloud providers established their presence in the Middle East early, with Amazon Web Services opening its first regional data center in Bahrain in 2019, followed by a data center in the United Arab Emirates in 2022. Microsoft started its first Middle Eastern cloud regions in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in June 2019, and Google Cloud entered Saudi Arabia’s Dammam region in 2023.
美国云服务商在中东的布局起步较早——亚马逊云科技 2019 年在巴林建成首个区域数据中心，2022 年又在阿联酋落成新设施；微软于 2019 年 6 月在阿布扎比和迪拜同步开通中东首批云服务节点；谷歌云则于 2023 年进驻沙特阿拉伯达曼地区。
Oracle has two cloud regions in the UAE and two in Saudi Arabia, with plans for a third in Neom, a planned project set to transform the Red Sea coast of northwest Saudi Arabia into a futuristic city.
甲骨文公司在阿联酋设有两个云服务区域，在沙特阿拉伯也有两个，并计划在 Neom 新建第三个区域。Neom 是一个规划中的大型项目，旨在将沙特西北部的红海沿岸打造成未来之城。
Despite this established footprint, Chinese cloud providers such as Huawei formed strong partnerships with regional telecommunications companies including STC, E& Enterprise, du, Zain, OmanTel, and Ooredoo, driving developments in cloud, artificial intelligence, 5G, and smart city technologies, Ranjan said.
兰詹表示，尽管市场根基稳固，华为等中国云服务商仍与沙特电信(STC)、阿联酋电信企业(E& Enterprise)、阿联酋 du、科威特 Zain、阿曼电信(OmanTel)和卡塔尔 Ooredoo 等中东电信巨头建立了深度合作，共同推进云计算、人工智能、5G 及智慧城市技术的创新发展。
“At Huawei Cloud, we are committed to enabling businesses across Saudi Arabia to thrive in the digital economy by providing world-class cloud technologies,” Alan Qi, president of Huawei Cloud, Middle East and Central Asia, said during the 2025 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in March. “This partnership with Zain strengthens our ability to support organizations with scalable, secure, and intelligent cloud solutions.” Huawei did not respond to a request for comment from Rest of World.
"2025 年 3 月，华为云中东及中亚区总裁 Alan Qi 在巴塞罗那世界移动通信大会上表示：“华为云始终致力于通过全球领先的云技术，助力沙特企业把握数字经济机遇。此次与 Zain 达成合作，将进一步提升我们为客户提供弹性扩展、安全可靠、智能高效的云解决方案的能力。”针对 Rest of World 的采访请求，华为方面未予置评。"
Saudi Arabia is currently executing a cloud-first policy that mandates government offices to use internet-based computer services before buying their own equipment for new projects. Huawei has established four cloud facilities, including a data center in Saudi Arabia with ultralow latency capabilities, which allows information to travel between computers with almost no delay.
沙特阿拉伯正在推行"云优先"政策，要求政府部门在启动新项目时优先采用基于互联网的云计算服务，而非直接采购硬件设备。华为已在当地建设了四座云基础设施，其中包括一个具备超低延时特性的数据中心，可实现近乎零延迟的计算机间数据传输。
Last month, the company announced a partnership with telecom firm Zain KSA to upgrade its networks in Saudi Arabia. In just two years, Huawei Cloud’s Riyadh hub has onboarded more than 1,000 customers, including Saudi government agencies and major financial institutions, according to Huawei.
上月，华为宣布与沙特电信运营商 Zain KSA 达成合作，共同升级沙特境内的通信网络。华为数据显示，其利雅得云服务中心在短短两年内已发展超 1000 家客户，其中包括沙特政府机构及多家大型金融机构。
In February, during one of the biggest tech events in the region, Tencent announced its entry into the Middle East’s cloud business. The company said it will invest more than $150 million in the kingdom over the next few years.
今年二月，在地区顶级科技盛会期间，腾讯宣布进军中东云计算市场。该公司表示未来几年将在沙特投资逾 1.5 亿美元。
Similarly, Alibaba Cloud expanded strategically by opening data centers in the UAE in 2022 and Saudi Arabia last year. It entered the Saudi market by setting up a venture with STC. The Saudi Cloud Computing Company will support the kingdom’s Vision 2030 goals, under which the government hopes to diversify the economy away from oil dependency.
无独有偶，阿里云也采取了战略性扩张——2022 年在阿联酋、去年又在沙特阿拉伯新建数据中心。其通过与沙特电信(STC)合资的方式打入沙特市场。新成立的沙特云计算公司将助力该国实现"2030 愿景"目标，该战略旨在推动经济结构转型，降低对石油产业的依赖。
They have also formed strategic partnerships with government entities in the region, especially in Saudi Arabia.
他们还与该地区政府机构建立了战略合作伙伴关系，尤其是在沙特阿拉伯。
“They have also formed strategic partnerships with government entities in the region, especially in Saudi Arabia, to ensure compliance with local data laws,” Ranjan said, noting how Chinese providers have turned regulatory requirements into competitive advantages.
"兰詹指出，中国企业已将与当地数据法规的合规要求转化为竞争优势，并与该地区政府——尤其是沙特阿拉伯——建立了战略合作关系。"
A key differentiator has been the Chinese providers’ approach to artificial intelligence. While U.S. companies have been slow to adopt AI solutions in the region, Chinese providers have aggressively embedded AI into their offerings at a time when Gulf nations are pursuing AI leadership.
关键差异在于中国科技企业布局人工智能的策略。当美国企业在中东地区对 AI 应用仍持观望态度时，中国供应商正趁海湾国家争夺 AI 领导地位之际，全力将人工智能技术整合进产品体系。
During the Huawei Global AI Summit last year, Huawei Cloud’s chief technology officer, Bruno Zhang, showed how its AI could cut Saudi hospital diagnostic times by 40% using localized Arabic language models — a tangible benefit that theoretical AI platforms from Western providers couldn’t match.
去年在华为全球人工智能峰会上，华为云首席技术官布鲁诺·张现场演示了其人工智能技术：通过本地化阿拉伯语模型，能将沙特医院的诊断效率提升 40%。这种看得见的实效，是西方供应商那些停留在理论层面的人工智能平台所无法企及的。
The rise of Chinese cloud providers in the Middle East has been bolstered by China’s Digital Silk Road initiative, which provides diplomatic cover and positions these companies as trusted digital transformation partners. While U.S. companies face increased scrutiny over data governance concerns, Chinese firms benefit from high-level agreements that streamline their market entry and operations.
中国云服务商在中东市场的崛起，背后是中国"数字丝绸之路"倡议的强力支撑。该倡议不仅提供了外交层面的保护伞，更将中国企业塑造成值得信赖的数字化转型伙伴。当美国科技企业因数据治理问题备受质疑时，中国企业却凭借高层协议优势，轻松打通市场准入和运营通道。
For Middle Eastern CIOs, Chinese cloud providers offer support and a better understanding of regional business contexts, making them increasingly attractive options for achieving data sovereignty, cost optimization, and vendor diversification. Chinese vendors offer bundled deals, which are significant factors in total cost of ownership calculations, Ranjan said.
对中东地区的首席信息官而言，中国云服务商不仅能提供技术支持，还更了解当地商业环境，因而在实现数据主权、优化成本和供应商多元化方面正成为愈发理想的选择。Ranjan 指出，中企提供的捆绑销售方案，是影响总体拥有成本核算的关键因素。
Even with the shift to cloud over the past few years, there are still certain types of workload or industry-specific activities that are best and cheapest to run in a more traditional data center, according to Kenneth Lindegaard, CIO at UAE-based AI-powered space technology company Space42. The hybrid approach plays directly to the strengths of Chinese providers, who recognized this market preference early and built their regional strategy around it.
阿联酋人工智能太空科技公司 Space42 的首席信息官 Kenneth Lindegaard 指出，尽管过去几年云计算已成趋势，但某些特定工作负载或行业活动在传统数据中心运行仍最具性价比。这种混合架构恰好契合中国供应商的优势——他们敏锐捕捉到这一市场需求，并以此为核心制定了区域拓展战略。
“The cloud market is very competitive, and there are many players,” Lindegaard told Rest of World. “Regulations like data localization, etc., are risky because there might not be a business case for all of them to build cloud data centers in all countries in the region.”
“云计算市场竞争异常激烈，参与者众多，”Lindegaard 向《Rest of World》表示。“数据本地化等监管要求存在风险，因为并非所有企业都有必要在该地区的每个国家都建立云数据中心。”
The battle for cloud dominance in the region illustrates a broader truth about emerging technology markets: Having the best technology isn’t enough. Winning requires aligning with national priorities — a reality Chinese cloud providers have embraced, even as their U.S. counterparts focus on technological superiority.
该地区云计算主导权的争夺战揭示了一个关于新兴技术市场的深层真相：仅凭技术领先远远不够。制胜关键在于契合国家发展战略——中国云服务商深谙此道，而美国同行则仍执着于技术优势的比拼。
“The Chinese companies are showing that success in the Middle East depends as much on trust and cooperation as it does on computing power,” Luis Bravo, senior research analyst at Texas-based data center Hawk, told Rest of World.
"得克萨斯州数据中心企业 Hawk 的高级研究分析师路易斯·布拉沃向《Rest of World》表示：'中国企业在中东的实践证明，要取得成功，算力固然重要，但信任与合作同样不可或缺。'"
