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

Ding Long

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 Chinas 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 Jinpings 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 Peoples 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 ministers 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 Arabias main oil export market has shifted from Europe and the United States to Asia. Saudi Arabia attaches increasing importance to Asian countries， and “l(fā)ooking east” to develop partnerships with China and other Asian countries has become the new orientation of its diplomatic strategy. Chinas strategy of opening up to the west meets Saudi Arabias strategy of “l(fā)ooking 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 Chinas largest trading partner in the Middle East since 2001， while China has become Saudi Arabias 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 Chinas first source of oil imports in most years， while China has been the biggest market for Saudi Arabias crude oil exports. Chinese-funded enterprises have undertaken major infrastructure projects such as the Mecca-Medina high-speed railway in Saudi Arabia.

Thirdly， cultural exchanges have promoted people-to-people connectivity. After the Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan in 2008， Saudi Arabia donated US$50 million in cash and US$10 million in supplies to the Chinese side. The generosity of Saudi Arabia in the relief effort serves as a profound manifestation of the true friendship between the two peoples who stick to each other through thick and thin. Chinese language education is flourishing in Saudi Arabia as a new growth point for cultural exchanges between the two countries. Four universities in Saudi Arabia offer Chinese language majors and eight primary and secondary schools offer optional Chinese language courses. The Saudi Arabia government plans to open Chinese language courses in 746 secondary schools in 2022.

China-Saudi Arabia Cooperation Moves into the Fast Lane

In 2013， President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative， which received enthusiastic support and positive response from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is a founding member of the ADB， and signed a document on cooperation in building the Belt and Road with China in 2016. Since the introduction of the Belt and Road Initiative， China and Saudi Arabia have strengthened strategic coordination， with deepened mutual political trust and accelerated economic， trade and investment cooperation.

The implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative coincides with a historic national transformation in Saudi Arabia. Following Salman's succession to the throne， Saudi Arabia embarked on an all-round national and social reform under the patronage of Crown Prince Mohammed， with the aim of diversifying the economy away from dependence on oil revenues. In April 2016， Saudi Arabia launched its Vision 2030 plan， with the Vibrant Society， Prosperous Economy and Ambitious Nation as its three principal lines， setting the direction for the country's transformation over the next 15 years， aiming at building Saudi Arabia as the core of the Arab-Islamic world， an international logistics hub and a global investment powerhouse. Saudi Arabias national transformation in the context of Vision 2030 has brought new opportunities for China and Saudi Arabia to synergise their strategies and jointly build the Belt and Road.

Firstly， the joint efforts in building the Belt and Road will help to deepen and widen Chinas participation in the development of the Middle East and upgrade Saudi Arabias regional leadership and international status. Starting with the Belt and Road， China will enhance its ability to participate in and promote the development process of the Middle East， so as to achieve mutual benefits and win-win results with Saudi Arabia and other regional countries. Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict， Saudi Arabia， as the world's leading oil producer and the only major oil exporter with significant spare capacity， has witnessed a significant rise in its international standing and strategic confidence as well as its willingness and ability to participate in regional and international affairs. The strengthening of strategic coordination between China and Saudi Arabia within the framework of the Belt and Road will allow both sides to play a greater role in regional affairs and global governance.

Secondly， the Belt and Road Initiative facilitates smooth trade and capital flows between China and Saudi Arabia. The Belt and Road project promotes the deepening of energy-based economic and trade relations between China and Saudi Arabia， and the completion of the China-Gulf Free Trade Zone will facilitate bilateral trade and generate trade diversion and trade creation effects. The industrial cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia can help the latter develop its downstream oil industry， and production capacity cooperation can promote the development of Saudi industry and logistics， helping Saudi Arabia to become a global logistics centre. The development of two-way investment between China and Saudi Arabia， including sovereign wealth fund cooperation together with investment in third-party markets can help Saudi Arabia realise its vision of being a global investment powerhouse whilst promoting the global extension of China's industrial and value chains.

Thirdly， the Belt and Road Initiative facilitates Saudi Arabia to become a world hub linking the three continents of Asia， Europe and Africa. With a remarkably advantageous location， Saudi Arabia serves not only as an important logistics hub for Asia， Africa and Europe， but also as an important intersection of the Belt and Road in West Asia. The Belt and Road infrastructure linkage - land， sea， sky and network - synergises with Saudi Arabias vision of creating an interconnectivity hub.

Saudi Arabia has been one of Chinas most important and time-honoured overseas engineering contracting markets， and both sides enjoy broad cooperation areas in the context of synergising development strategies. Since the introduction of Vision 2030， Saudi Arabia has launched a number of large-scale infrastructure projects represented by the NEOM and The Line， which are in line with the concept of the Belt and the Road to strengthen infrastructure connectivity， resulting in great potential for China-Saudi Arabia cooperation in the field of infrastructure development.

Lastly， the Belt and Road Initiative helps promote people-to-people connectivity between China and Saudi Arabia. Although China and Saudi Arabia are geographically far away from each other， they have been linked by the ancient Silk Road on land that witnessed streaming merchants and the Maritime Spice Road full of sails. The ruins of the ancient Saudi port of Al-Serrian bear witness to the cultural exchanges between China and Saudi Arabia on the Silk Road. Aiming at long-term friendship， China and Saudi Arabia should strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges so as to enrich the humanistic content of their strategic partnership.

The Summits Opens New Horizon for Joint Efforts in Building the Belt and Road

President Xi Jinpings visit to Saudi Arabia and the Three-Ring Summits will give an important impetus to China and Saudi Arabia for strengthening strategic dovetailing and building the Belt and Road with joint efforts. During the visit， the two governments signed the Implementation Plan for the Synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and Saudi Arabias Vision 2030， aiming to jointly boost cooperation in infrastructure， production capacity， energy， trade and investment， finance and people-to-people sphere between the two countries. The two sides will focus on the following areas in their future cooperation in building the Belt and Road.

The first one is to strengthen policy communication. Both as important forces in upholding multilateralism and building a multipolar world， China and Saudi Arabia will continue to strengthen policy communication and coordination. Both sides will strengthen cooperation in global governance in the United Nations， G20 and other international organisations and multilateral arenas. China welcomes Saudi Arabia to join the SCO as a dialogue partner and supports Saudi Arabias efforts to become a member of the BRICS. The strategic cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia is based on the principles of mutual benefit and win-win result and partnership without alliance， rather than targeting at the third party.

The second one is to build a new pattern of three-dimensional cooperation in energy. China and Saudi Arabia should deepen the energy cooperation within the framework of Oil and Gas Plus. Focused on crude oil trade， the energy cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia is vulnerable to oil price fluctuations and geopolitical impacts. Therefore， there is an urgent need to strengthen the cooperation between both sides in the whole industry chain of oil and gas as well as all energy forms. Whilst expanding oil and gas trade， China and Saudi Arabia should deepen cooperation in the whole industry chain in the fields of oil exploration， exploitation， storage and transportation， and innovative use of hydrocarbon energy. Both China and Saudi Arabia have announced carbon peaking and carbon neutrality targets， and a green low-carbon economy will become a blue ocean for energy cooperation between both sides.

The third one is to strengthen cooperation in emerging areas such as science and technology， manufacturing and finance. Saudi Arabia is making great efforts in developing advanced technologies such as communications， digital economy， cloud computing， artificial intelligence and aerospace. Starting with Huaweis construction of Saudi Arabias 5G telecommunication and cloud computing projects， Chinese companies will obtain more business opportunities in its high-tech market and at the same time help to diversify the Saudi economy. In the financial sector， both sides may gradually expand the scale of local currency swap， develop cross-border RMB settlement business and actively explore the RMB settlement for trade in oil and petrochemical products.

The successful convening of the China-Saudi Arabia， China-Gulf states and China-Arab states Three-Ring Summits in Saudi Arabia has left a magnificent mark in the history of Chinas relations with Arab countries. The comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Saudi Arabia， the host country of the Summits， has been significantly upgraded. Based on the fruitful results achieved at the Summits， China and Saudi Arabia will stand at a new historical starting point to embark on a new journey of enhancing the practical cooperation in an all-round way through deepening the synergy of the development strategies and focusing on building the Belt and Road.

Ding Long is Professor of the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University.