Saudi diplomacy tastes diplomatic change

More emphasis on matching needs

Saudi Arabia recently joined the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and became the main investor in Belt and Road Initiative projects in Pakistan, forging closer economic ties between Riyadh, Beijing and Islamabad.

In general, China and Saudi Arabia have great potential for cooperation in production capacity, not merely energy. Riyadh hopes to realize economic transition with Saudi Vision 2030 while Beijing has a lot of advantages in emerging fields. In addition, Beijing and Riyadh can achieve some breakthroughs in politics, diplomacy and security and significantly strengthen cooperation in anti-terrorism and anti-piracy operations and global governance.

In order to connect the Belt and Road Initiative and Saudi Vision 2030, the two countries should first understand each other's real needs. And just like China hopes to win over more oil projects in Saudi Arabia, the Yanbu refinery for example, Riyadh wants to woo Chinese investment in infrastructure construction, housing and tourism development.

Sun Xia, an associate research fellow at the Institute of International Relations, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences