China and the United Arab Emirates already have deep ties in oil and gas. But China's pathway into Middle Eastern markets now also includes taxis. Jacob Greaves explains.

There a new taxi venture in Dubai- and it's made in China.

OneRoad Taxi has recently become only the 7th licensed firm allowed to operate in the Emirate.

Currently, they have around 100 operational cars, but hope to rapidly expand, bringing other Chinese brands along for the ride.

KEVIN LUO GENERAL MANAGER, ONEROAD TAXI "The next step for us is to manage around 2,000 taxis here in Dubai in order to create a more convenient way of life for citizens. Since cars manufactured in China, with high quality, has gained great popularity worldwide, we'd love to introduce more Chinese cars to Dubai. The Chinese automobile brand 'Hongqi' plays a leading role in the Chinese markets due to its high quality and stable performance, so we would introduce more Hongqi cars into the Dubai market to enrich the current car selection."

The timing is far from a coincidence.

Fast approaching is a major global event being held in Dubai set to draw in business.

JACOB GREAVES DUBAI "For any taxi company operating in Dubai, particularly a new one, there's one key moment to prepare for. Expo 2020 a world fair being held in the emirate. It hopes to attract well over 20 million visitors."

The new taxi firm is part of parent company OneRoad, which has operated in the UAE for years.

They speak of using a growing taxi fleet to help build a business ecosystem in Dubai.

JOJO ZHANG DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER, ONEROAD "For advertising for this LCD screen we're going to place all LCD screens on the rooftop of the taxi. So this is only just like the platform, we are building a channel after that we are going to trial the customer to promote their brands through our advertising."

They're also building a booking app, but OneRoad is not assured a smooth ride.

App-based Uber and its Gulf competitor Careem both already operate in the UAE.

Not to mention the other meter-based firms.

Though the market does appear to be accelerating.

In 2018 taxi bookings alone through Dubai's road and transport authority hit a record of 12 million.

That's up 17% on 2017, and the Emirate is attempting to grow its fleet with Expo 2020 on the horizon.

OneRoad now has the green light to compete for that business.

JG, CGTN In Dubai.