China’s Relations with the Gulf Monarchies

The Saudi Arabia–China relationship at a crossroad: A neoclassical realist analysis

“…Improving relationships with one country at the cost of another seems to be an unlikely choice for China (Xiaodong, 1999). While the Gulf monarchies, including Saudi Arabia, are more significant than Iran for China economically (Fulton, 2018), Iran could serve as a diplomatic leverage in China's bargaining with the United States in the great power competition. This is not an easy choice for China.…”

“…KSA-China relationship remains under-researched but has attracted increasingly more scholarly attention, some of which utilize the neoclassical realism to organize their analysis. Fulton's (2018) book on China's relations with the Gulf Monarchies highlighted different domestic and international factors that would influence their bilateral relationship (Fulton, 2018). Cengiz (2020) also utilized neoclassical realism and especially provided close and timely observations over Saudi's China policies under the new leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.…”

Situating Saudi Arabia in China's Belt and Road Initiative

“…The China‐Saudi Arabia relationship has seen tremendous growth since formal diplomatic ties were established in 1990. This is all the more impressive given the long and circuitous path the two states took in developing a multi‐faceted bilateral relationship (See, Fulton, 2019b, pp. 72–93).…”

“…The five cooperation priorities outlined in Vision and Actions do not represent an innovation in China's foreign relations; they are the same framework used to build relations with states before the announcement of the BRI. In the case of Saudi Arabia and its Gulf monarchy neighbors, these cooperation priorities were the means by which China transformed itself from a marginal, far‐off state to a major extra‐regional power (Fulton, 2019b). What these five priorities do is lay out a path to denser economic and political relations.…”

“…By 2013 there were over 140 Chinese companies working on projects in Saudi Arabia, with an estimated value of $18 billion (Li, 2013). High‐profile projects included China Railway Construction Company's participation in the Mecca‐Medina‐Jeddah high‐speed railway to transport visitors performing hajj ; a power plant north of Jeddah, the largest in the Middle East; and the joint project between Saudi Aramco and Sinopec to build the $12 billion Yanbu oil refinery (Fulton, 2019b, pp. 102–103).…”