ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on – China–Saudi Arabia energy trade and its interplay with US–Saudi Arabia security ties. The interregional flow of energy and other goods, of capital, and of labour between Asia and the Middle East, and especially between China and the Gulf States, has grown significantly over the last decade in particular. From the time when the People's Republic of China (PRC) was admitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 and the country's oil and gas imports surged, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) exporters witnessed a massive boost in revenue. Saudi Arabia has been China's most important oil trade partner for over a decade. Saudi Arabia has enjoyed a US security umbrella ever since 1945 meeting of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud on board the USS Quincy in the Red Sea. Even though formal diplomatic relations and California Arabian Standard Oil Company's explorations date back to the 1930s, the meeting proved crucial.
