Since 2001, Saudi Arabia has been China’s largest trading partner in the Middle East. According to the latest data from the Ministry of Commerce, in 2022, the bilateral trade volume between China and Saudi Arabia was US$116.04 billion, a year-on-year increase of 33.1%. Among them, China’s exports were 37.99 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 25.7%, and imports were 78.05 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 37%. Saudi Arabia has become China’s first 100 billion dollar trading partner in the Middle East. By the end of 2022, the stock of direct investment by Chinese enterprises in Saudi Arabia was US$3.01 billion. In November 2023, the central banks of China and Saudi Arabia signed a local currency swap agreement with a swap size of 50 billion yuan/26 billion Saudi riyals.
China mainly exports mechanical and electrical products, metals and their products, automobiles and ships, textiles and garments, etc., and mainly imports crude oil, petrochemical products, dates, etc.
According to Arabian Business, the total export value of Saudi dates and date by-products has increased by 152.5% since 2016, with a compound annual growth rate of 12.3%. Saudi Arabia’s date exports in 2023 will reach US$398 million, with the Chinese market growing by 121%.
