The United Arab Emirates recently ordered to stop work on a Chinese facility after American officials stated that Beijing intended to use the site for military purposes, UAE said.

Last month, reports had emerged that the Biden administration managed to halt the construction of personal development inside of a Chinese shipping port in the UAE, one of the US’s closest Mideast allies, after intense pressure from the US.

Emirates ordered work stopped at the site at Washington’s behest, said Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the UAE’s leadership. The UAE, he said, didn’t believe the facility was intended for military or security uses, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.

This project, near Abu Dhabi, was halted after several rounds of meetings and visits by US officials, WSJ had reported citing people familiar with the matter.

After the intelligence agencies in Washington learned that Beijing was secretly building what they suspected was a military facility at a port, the Biden administration warned the Emirati government that a Chinese military presence in its country could threaten ties between the two countries.