The China-Saudi Arabia (Jizan) Industrial Park under the Belt and Road Initiative

Abstract

Saudi Arabia is the largest economy in West Asia and North Africa which plays an important role in politics, economy and other fields in the Middle East and the whole world. Since 2016, high-level visits between China and Saudi Arabia are more frequent. China and Saudi Arabia have established a comprehensive strategic partnership and established a comprehensive, high-level and institutional cooperation platform – the China Saudi high-level joint committee. Under the overall coordination of this mechanism, the economic and trade cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia, which focuses on energy sources, industrial cooperation, trade and investment is in an unprecedented period of strategic opportunities. The China-Saudi Arabia (Jizan) Industrial Park is a major investment project to deepen production capacity cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia. At present, it has made positive progress in communication and coordination mechanisms, infrastructure construction and introduction of enterprises into the park. Therefore, this paper argues that under the guidance of the Belt and Road Initiative, China and Saudi Arabia should accelerate the docking of development strategies, facilitate the construction of overseas industrial parks such as the Jizan Industrial Park, attract more investment of manufacturing enterprises from China and third market countries, endeavour to build the Jizan Industrial Park as a landmark project of practical cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia, boost the implementation of Saudi Arabia’s ‘Vision 2030’, and promote the industrialization process of Arab countries.