Who Replaced New York?

Abdullah Al Alami

April 14, 2021

 

For the first time in seven years, New York City lost its title as the billionaire capital of the world, and Beijing rightly claimed the title with complete confidence. China is now the largest importer of Saudi oil, which accounts for a third of its annual need. China will remain a permanent customer of Saudi oil for the next fifty years.

As the Chinese lead the largest global economic alliance in Asia, this is our opportunity to benefit from their expertise in implementing our major projects such as "NEOM" and "Red Sea Road", and work together on the "renewable energy economy" project. It makes sense to cooperate with a strong country that shares many of our objectives, as china has achieved a 2.3% growth rate last year despite the global Corona crisis.

We share with China a strategic vision in terms of growth, trade, and diversification of the economy. Likewise, all roads are open to obtain our military needs from China without having to agree to certain political conditions. Saudi Arabia and China agree on the necessity of securing stability in the Middle East region, which suffers from foreign interference and security crises.

This is an opportunity for the Saudi private sector to benefit from Chinese economic expertise. The facts are clear; trade exchange between Saudi Arabia and China in 2020 reached about $11 billion, and it is expected that strategic cooperation, including the Free Trade Agreement, will contribute to reaching more than 100 billion dollars within a decade.

The Saudi economy is by far the strongest in the Middle East. This is an opportunity for Riyadh and Beijing to develop stronger economic ties between the two countries.

*Saudi writer