Saudi king brings his Vision 2030 to China

It's one of the most ambitious economic transformation plans unveiled by any country.

Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, announced less than a year ago, is a multitrillion-dollar blueprint to reduce its dependence on oil, and turn the kingdom into a global investment powerhouse.

At the heart of the initiative is the creation of the world's largest sovereign wealth fund worth more than $2 trillion, dwarfing Norway's $850 billion pension fund. The plan also calls for the sale of 5 percent of Saudi Aramco through an IPO next year, and transform the oil behemoth into an industrial conglomerate.

The initiative has generated huge global interest, and for the past two weeks, King Salman has been touring East Asian capitals to promote it.

On Wednesday, the Saudi monarch arrives in Beijing to build on an already robust relationship with China, boosted by last year's visit to the kingdom by President Xi Jinping.

"King Salman's visit to Beijing is in many ways the most complex, and potentially meaningful, far-reaching and important part of the whole trip," said Hussein Ibish, senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

He believes Saudi Arabia is seeking to strengthen strategic ties with Beijing in recognition of its growing global influence.

"If it is as successful as the Saudis hope, it could prove historic," Ibish said in an email to China Daily.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1990, Sino-Saudi relations have evolved to reach a strategic level, China's ambassador to the kingdom, Li Huaxin, told the Saudi media ahead of the king's visit.

Last year, bilateral trade was worth $42 billion, he said. In January, Saudi Arabia retook its position as China's biggest supplier of crude oil.

"The visit by King Salman will be important for strengthening bilateral energy ties, particularly to strengthen Saudi investments in Chinese downstream oil refining and petrochemicals to lock in sales of Saudi oil as feedstock," said Rajiv Biswas, chief economist for the Asia-Pacific region at the British market information provider IHS Markit.

He also said the kingdom was planning to invest between $30 billion and $50 billion in its renewable energy program by 2030, and China could become a key partner in that.

But Sino-Saudi relations are not just about trade and investment.

Last month, the first season of Kong Xiaoxi and Hakim, a children's animation coproduced by the two countries, premiered in Saudi Arabia. A second season is at the planning stage.

And in January, the National Museum of China in Beijing hosted Roads of Arabia: Archaeological Treasures of Saudi Arabia, an exhibition showcasing a collection of more than 400 artifacts from several Saudi museums.

The Vision 2030 program is spearheaded by the king's 31-year-old son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

A workaholic, the prince told Bloomberg Businessweek last year that he was inspired by The Art of War by ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu.

That could help him successfully implement Vision 2030 because management gurus are already on record as saying Sun's principles can be turned into viable business strategies.

Contact the writer at abdul@chinadaily.com.cn