Cooperation Between China and Saudi Arabia within the Framework of the Belt and Road

Chinese President Xi Jinping was invited to Riyadh to attend the first China-Arab States Summit and the first China-Gulf Cooperation Council （GCC） Summit and pay a state visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from December 7 to 10， 2022. The Three-Ring Summits constitute China’s largest and highest-profile diplomatic initiative for the Arab world since the founding of the PRC. It is also the first time that all member states of the League of Arab States have held a summit with a sovereign state， serving as a milestone in the history of China-Arab relations. Meanwhile， the Summits are the first major multilateral diplomatic events co-hosted by China beyond its border since the 20th National Congress of the CPC. As the initiator and host of the Summits， Saudi Arabia has made an important contribution to the success of this major diplomatic event prominent in the history of China-Arab relations， underlining its political determination to develop all-round relations with China from three dimensions， namely， China-Saudi Arabia， China-Gulf states and China-Arab states， as well as its leadership in the Gulf region and the Arab world. The Summits have served as a strong impetus to advance the China-Saudi Arabia comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level and injected new momentum into the joint efforts for promoting the Belt and Road cooperation.

Summits Carrying Forward China-Saudi Arabia Traditional Friendship

President Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia together with the Three-Ring Summits has added a glorious chapter to the history of China-Saudi Arabia relations， and has become an epoch-making milestone for carrying out China-Saudi Arabia relations. The Saudi side received President Xi Jinping with extraordinarily warm hospitality and high standards. During the visit， China and Saudi Arabia achieved fruitful results in the development of a comprehensive strategic partnership and practical cooperation in various fields. The two heads of state co-signed in person the Agreement on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the People’s Republic of China and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia， agreeing to take turns hosting biennial meetings between the heads of state of the two countries. The institutionalisation of the meeting between the heads of state is of great significance in promoting the development of bilateral relations and is conducive to the continuous promotion of the strategic partnership and practical cooperation between the two sides from the dimension of the top-level design. Both sides agreed to upgrade the China-Saudi Arabia High-level Joint Committee to the prime minister’s level， raising the level and efficiency of the regular high-level consultations between the two countries. In addition， the two countries have signed documents on the Belt and Road cooperation， among others， formulating a roadmap for China-Saudi Arabia strategic cooperation. The important expounds made by the Chinese and Saudi heads of state on the importance of each other in their respective diplomatic strategies and the promotion of dovetailing development strategies have drawn up a blueprint for the development of a comprehensive strategic partnership between the two sides within the framework of the Belt and Road.

Marching in the Same Direction for Deepening China-Saudi Arabia Relations

Saudi Arabia is an important member of the GCC as well as the OPEC， and the only Arab member in G20. Ranking the second for oil reserves and the third for oil production in the world， Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil exporter. As the biggest economy in the West Asia and North Africa region and the world top in economic growth in 2022， Saudi Arabia is expected to become the first trillion-dollar economy in the West Asia and North Africa region.

Since the end of the 20th century， Saudi Arabia’s main oil export market has shifted from Europe and the United States to Asia. Saudi Arabia attaches increasing importance to Asian countries， and “looking east” to develop partnerships with China and other Asian countries has become the new orientation of its diplomatic strategy. China’s strategy of opening up to the west meets Saudi Arabia’s strategy of “looking east”， and marching in the same direction has become the keynote for the development of China-Saudi Arabia relations. The development of China-Saudi Arabia relations is characterised by the following points.

Firstly， the head-of-state diplomacy leads to a leap forward in bilateral relations. China and Saudi Arabia established official diplomatic relationship in July 1990. Although Saudi Arabia was the last Arab country to establish diplomatic relationship with China， the bilateral relations have developed rapidly since then and have continued to upgrade. Both sides have frequently exchanged high-level visits， and the leading role of the head-of-state diplomacy has been a distinctive feature of the development of China-Saudi Arabia relations.

Secondly， economic and trade cooperation solidifies the foundation for strategic partnership. In the economic and trade sphere， the remarkable complementarity of the two economies has driven continued significant growth in bilateral trade. Saudi Arabia has been China’s largest trading partner in the Middle East since 2001， while China has become Saudi Arabia’s top trading partner since 2013 and has remained so ever since. Trade between China and Saudi Arabia reached US$87.3 billion in 2021， 209 times of that in 1990 when China and Saudi Arabia established diplomatic relationship. Since 2002， Saudi Arabia has been China’s first source of oil imports in most years， while China has been the biggest market for Saudi Arabia’s crude oil exports. Chinese-funded enterprises have undertaken major infrastructure projects such as the Mecca-Medina high-speed railway in Saudi Arabia.