Regime building is considered a key tool used by China to expand and deepen cooperation with partner states, and its utilization has steadily increased over time. The main question of this study is why China seeks to establish a regime with the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). This article employs an explanatory approach and argues that China has turned to regime building with the GCC to pursue and maximize its economic interests. The findings indicate that China initiated talks to establish a China-GCC Free Trade Area to boost economic trade (USD 25 billion in 2004), which increased to over USD 90 billion in 2008 and exceeded USD 180 billion in 2019. China is currently aiming to expand the Free Trade Area to other sectors, particularly trade in services and investment. The theoretical framework of the article is the theory of international interest-based regimes, and the data collection method is documentary analysis.