China - Saudi Arabia Relations (1990-2009)

The People's Republic of China and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia established formal diplomatic relations on July 21st , 1990. Prior to this, with the Cold War and other historical restrictions, such as huge differences between the two political systems in social, cultural, religious and other areas, Saudi Arabia has formal diplomatic relations with the"Republic of China"(Taiwan). China and Saudi Arabia went through a difficult and tortuous journey to establish diplomatic relations.However, the bilateral relations of China and Saudi Arabia have remained friendly and peacefully developed. It created a model of friendly cooperation between two social systems with different beliefs and cultural traditions. This thesis analyses the development of the relations between China and Saudi Arabia.First of all, the diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and the"Republic of China"(Taiwan) relations was proposed as the background. The author believes that trade and economic exchanges between Taiwan and Saudi Arabia is the main driving force for their relations, which also bring about some difficulties to the establishment of diplomatic relations of Chain and . Taiwan has not stopped using its relation with Saudi Arabia for their "expansion space" on the international stage. Thus, it's necessary for China to uphold the "one China" principle when develop its relation with Saudi Arabia.Second, the process of the two countries to establish diplomatic ties is a process full of twists and turns, which also demonstrates the wisdom and superb diplomatic skills of the two countries'leaders. Under the impetus of the Muslim contacts, the trade and economic, cultural and sports exchanges developed. Finally, the non-governmental foreign exchanges ended in the political diplomatic relations. Therefore, the author uses a theory of international relations named the influence of "concept" on the foreign policy in this part. As Saudi Arabia changed its view about China mainly because of its awareness of the freedom Muslims enjoy in China. And that leads to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Third, the Sino-Saudi relations developed quickly with the rapid development of China's economy. The economic and trade cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia has reached a strategic height. China's economic take-off couldn't be achieved without Saudi's oil supply, which is the focus of bilateral relations. In addition, the investment and trade between China and Saudi Arabia has been increasing. The exchange of visits between top leaders and common economic interest has not only consolidated the relations between China and Saudi Arabia, but also to promote the comprehensive development of their bilateral relations. In dealing with international issues of common concern, the two countries have expressed understanding and support to each other. The exchanges in religions, cultures, educations, scientist and technology have also developed considerably. Just as the Chinese leaders said that the "Sino-Saudi relations are facing the best time of development."In spite of the development of Sino-Saudi relations, there are still some uncertain factors, such as Saudi Arabia's trade deficit with China, the relationship between Taiwan and Saudi Arabia, the United State's dominance in the Middle East, the threat from international terrorism, and the volatile situation in Iraq and so on. These may affect the future relationship between China and Saudi Arabia. To address these issues, both countries need to strengthen exchanges and cooperation.