Their bilateral economic ties, however, grew closer in the noughties.

In January 2006, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah was the first Saudi leader to visit China. Chinese President Hu Jintao gave him a red carpet welcome at the Great Hall of the People and reciprocated the visit in the April of the same year. Both visits were on the front page of the Arab News, reflecting the growing importance of China in the Kingdom.

If the January visit of King Abdullah to Beijing opened a new era in Saudi-China relations, as Hu claimed at that time, then the April 22-24 visit of the Chinese president to Riyadh was seen as solidifying the relationship. As Arab News commented at that time, the burgeoning ties between Riyadh and Beijing were a result of the Kingdom's recognition of Asia's rising economic and geo-strategic status and China's increasing appetite for energy and the importance it attaches to securing future supplies of hydrocarbon resources. The talks between the two sides centered on trade, especially in the area of oil, natural gas and minerals.

In 2009, Hu visited the Kingdom a second time with the purpose of exchanging views on international and regional issues of common concern with King Abdullah. With King Abdullah personally welcoming Hu on his arrival at Riyadh Air Base and the Chinese leader describing his trip as one of friendship and cooperation, Arab News continued to take special interest in focusing on bilateral relations both in editorial comment and news coverage. An added importance in the treatment of China in the news coverage of Arab News was Hu's meeting with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah, a meeting that reflected his genuine desire to promote cooperation between China and GCC member countries.

After his talks with the GCC secretary-general, Hu said, "Riyadh and Beijing have agreed to keep close contacts with a view to reforming the global financial institutions. Beijing wants to expand its ties with GCC states within the framework of a new vision of bilateral ties, which has been set out by the two blocs - the GCC and China. Beijing would like to boost links with the six GCC states in all sectors." He added that Saudi Arabia and China would step up coordination, work more closely on trade and investment, and jointly respond to and guard against financial risks in an effort to ensure the two emerging economies' financial stability.

He noted that friendship between China and GCC member states had also witnessed further comprehensive development. On a visit to the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), where a group of Chinese scientists are studying the genes of dates, Hu said he was impressed with KACST and the work of scientists from his country. "The project is a symbol of cooperation between the two countries in science and technology." KACST has direct cooperation with many international scientific bodies, which include the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). A 20-member team from CAS is working with its Saudi counterpart on such projects as date-planting and camel-gene research. KACST has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Huawei Technologies, China's major telecommunications equipment manufacturer, to strengthen cooperation in telecom technology and personnel training. Aside from signing agreements on oil, gas and mining, one of Hu's MOU's was for Saudi Aramco to store crude oil in China.

Earlier, following the devastating May 2008 earthquake in Wenchuan, in China's southwest Sichuan Province, Saudi Arabia earned the distinction of being the largest aid donor to China, providing close to $50 million in financial assistance, and an additional $10 million worth of relief materials. The same year, the bilateral trade totaled 32.5 billion euros, making Saudi Arabia China's largest trading partner in Western Asia. Since that year, Yahya bin Abdul-Kareem Al-Zaid has been Saudi Arabia's ambassador to China. In respect of economic ties, Saudi Arabia has remained China's largest trade partner in West Asia since 2000. Bilateral trade volume in 2008 exceeded $41.8 billion in 2008, according to statistics from China Customs.

So what has contributed to China's growing importance for Saudi Arabia is Beijing's prowess in the economic field, as also its focused attention on Middle East regional issues including developments in Iraq and Palestinian affairs. Arab News prominently featured President Hu's address to the Shoura Council in which he offered Chinese assistance in resolving regional conflicts. "Under the circumstances," Hu said, "China is ready to work with Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries to support peace and growth in the Middle East and build a harmonious world that enjoys constant peace and prosperity."

Going by the track record of China's relations with the Middle East-Gulf region, it is clear that China neither has enjoyed strong historical ties nor long-term strategic interests. Yet, its relationship with the region has assumed dynamic proportions, chiefly due to its energy requirements to feed its thriving economy.

China has now emerged as the second largest oil importer in the world, accounting for 12 percent of the world's energy consumption, with a third of its supply coming from abroad. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Chinese industry will likely account for over 20 percent of growth in world energy demand over the next 25 years. China currently imports 32 percent of its oil, a figure that is likely to double over the next five years. Its gas imports are projected to increase from zero in 2000 to 20-25 million cubic meters by 2010.

In fact, China imports close to 50 percent of its oil from the Gulf. In 2008, Saudi Arabia alone accounted for 20 percent of China's oil imports. In the short term, as China's economy is slowing down, so will its appetite for oil, but in the medium term, China's dependence on Saudi and GCC oil will continue to rise.

Saudi Arabia's growing ties with China is also due to its Look-East policy. Saudi Arabia is the world's largest global oil exporter and its strength will continue to increase. This is because non-OPEC oil will not match the capacity of Gulf producers. China also realizes, like many countries the world over, that Saudi Arabia was least impacted by the global economic crisis. Moreover, the Kingdom stands as the most unscathed member of the G20.

Both Saudi Arabia and China hold massive foreign reserves and both also hold large US government paper. What is working to the Kingdom's advantage is that China is the second largest economy in the world, with a vast potential demand for energy. With its growth predicted on using hydrocarbons, China needs Saudi oil and the Kingdom needs to look East to find growing markets for its oil and petrochemicals over the coming decades.

Saudi Arabia and China are partners at various levels. Both are key members of the G20. The Kingdom represents the supply side of global energy economics in the bloc, while China represents the emerging economies. At the geopolitical level, both want long-term stability for the Middle East-Gulf region and long-term energy supply security with emphasis on Asia.

According to a SABB report on Saudi-China Trade Relations released in 2009, more than 70 Chinese companies are doing business in the Kingdom, of which 62 are construction firms employing close to 16,000 Chinese people. One Chinese construction company won a SR2.2 billion contract, the largest for a Chinese company in the Kingdom, to help expand facilities at King Khaled University. Another venture is the proposed Sino-Saudi Jazan Aluminum Plant, which is jointly owned by Chalco (Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd.).

A Chinese contractor also won a contract in 2007 to build a container terminal at Jeddah Islamic Port at a cost of SR860 million, and the same firm was selected along with a local company to build the industrial port at Ras Al-Zour. Chinese cement companies are heavily involved in upgrading and expansion work for Saudi cement companies. Additionally, a Saudi-Chinese consortium won the SR6.7 billion civil works contract for the Makkah-Madinah high-speed railways on behalf of the Saudi Railroad Organization.

China offers important economic advantages to Saudi Arabia's downstream expansion into the wider region. Also, China's affordable contractors and low-cost labor force do offer the Kingdom an extra cushion for the country's development projects.

Trade flows between the two countries will increase in the coming years, bringing them closer together. Their relationship is described as one of long-term mutual reciprocity. China's role in the Middle East and its ties with Saudi Arabia are set to grow stronger as a natural result of Beijing's rising status globally.

There are many examples of other areas of common Saudi-Chinese understanding. During the visit to Riyadh by Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on Jan. 13, he and Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal told a news conference, which was prominently featured in Arab News, that Israel must comply with UN Security Council resolutions and restart peace talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA). Yang echoed Prince Saud's views: "Beijing would exert all efforts to help restart peace talks. China will continue to support the Palestinians in their bid to establish an independent state." On Iran's nuclear standoff, Prince Saud and Yang urged Tehran to roll back its ambitions, asking Iran to abide by the IAEA provisions. China, Yang said, has always closely followed developments in the Middle East-Gulf region and actively supported the efforts for the establishment of a nuclear weapon-free zone.

Yang's Jan. 12-13 visit was at the head of a very large delegation of government officials and business leaders. The talks covered a number of bilateral and regional issues with emphasis on Asia's energy security and cooperation against terrorism. The visit coincided with the 20th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Riyadh and Beijing and provided an opportunity to discuss important topics such as the G20's role in tackling the global financial crisis, food security and climate change. Yang noted the visit of King Abdullah to China in 1998 as crown prince and again in 2006 as king and said that aside from high-level political exchanges cooperation in education was a key component. More than 500 Chinese students are currently in the Kingdom's academic institutions.

In an upcoming event, China and the Arab League's 22 states will hold ministerial talks in Beijing in June in the framework of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum to hold consultations on issues of mutual interest. Prince Saud has reportedly accepted an invitation to attend the forum.

In the field of culture, education and religion, the two countries have signed a series of agreements. The King Abdullah Scholarship has sponsored hundreds of Saudi students to study in China since it was first created in 2006. Thousands of Chinese pilgrims are visiting Saudi Arabia for Haj and Umrah year after year and their numbers continue to increase. Chinese Haj pilgrims have been visiting the Kingdom for many years until 1979. They resumed pilgrim activity in the 1990s, when numbers regularly exceeded 6,000, before reaching over 11,000 by 2007. In the late 1990s, Sino-Saudi friendship associations were set up and since then half a dozen trade fairs have been held in the Kingdom. In 2003, a non-governmental joint commercial committee was created with a mandate to organize business forums and other activities, as well as advise government officials on ways to facilitate trade.

So, if King Abdullah's visit to Beijing opened a new era in Saudi-China relations, President Hu's visit to Riyadh solidified the relationship. These visits augur well for the countries as 2010 marks the 20th anniversary of their diplomatic ties.