Cover Story: China Looks to Saudi Arabia Amid Shifting Sands in U.S. Economic Ties

As tensions between China and the U.S. show no signs of abating, ensnaring businesses from both countries in a seemingly endless spiral of restrictions and trade curbs, Beijing is looking elsewhere to find opportunities to bolster economic growth and expand its influence in key regions with geopolitical significance.

The most recent example is Saudi Arabia, the world’s second largest oil producer, where a flurry of political and business exchanges in the past six months represents China’s highest-level diplomatic engagement with Arab nations since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.