The China diaries

From Dubai to Shanghai in 72 hours, Anil Bhoyrul joins the business delegation accompanying His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum on a tour of the world's fastest growing major economy.

Sunday March 30,
Royal Wing, Dubai International Airport

7.30am Being in the Royal Wing is a special experience. There are no announcements, no check-in desks, no queues, no passport control. Luggage problems? Forget it. My luggage was collected four days ago and I am told it is already in a hotel in China waiting for me.

What is clear is that the 20 people sitting in front of me, between them, control over US$150bn of revenues a year. You name it - everyone including the bosses of DIFC, Istithmar, Etisalat, DIC and Masdar - are here.

I just follow the crowd, who all seem to be heading in the same direction, towards the only plane at the terminal - a Dubai Air Wing specially converted Boeing 747-400. I am ushered to the upper deck.

Inside, there is no such thing as economy class. It is literally a flying palace, with several wide open spaces everywhere. Strangely, there are no announcements on board either, no safety display, nobody to tell you to put your seat upright.

9.15am The plane starts moving, and three minutes later, having jumped the huge take-off queue, we are in the air. Confirmation that we are going to Beijing comes in the form of a card I am handed which reads "China World Hotel, Room 1421, Vehicle M7".

The in-flight map is switched on which reveals it is a seven-hour flight to the Chinese capital. It transpires that His Highness is not actually on this plane, but a second one following soon after.

Somewhere over China

1pm I like the way they serve lunch on board: a spectacular international hot buffet trolley appears, and you just help yourself. Time for a wander around this flying palace to see just who else is on board.

I bump first into Jumeirah Group executive chairman Gerald Lawless. Jumeirah is rumoured to be planning a new hotel in Shanghai, and Lawless seems hard at work on the details. Next to him is Dubai International Capital boss Sameer Al Ansari.

We get into a lengthy discussion about this week's Champions League clash between Liverpool and Arsenal. Al Ansari is not only a huge Liverpool fan but also failed to get his hands on the club earlier this year in a takeover bid that didn't quite come off. I suggest he should buy Arsenal instead - he could use DIC's cash. "No chance," he says.

Arsenal shares are too expensive and in any case Arsenal has already reached its full value. There are actually very few clubs in the world that are worth buying, and Liverpool is one of them," he says.

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