ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the evolution of Gulf–Asian economics to evidence its growing political dimension. It looks at the development of strategic investments, the emergence of common security interests and the implementation of the rapprochement at the diplomatic level. Researchers have acknowledged the shift of energy markets towards Asian economies, but so far have tended to downplay its political meaning by focusing on its purely economic logic and modest strategic dimension. Chinese and Gulf foreign ministers have so far convened three times for memorandum of understanding Strategic Dialogue and China’s 2016 Arab Policy Paper explicitly depicted the Gulf Cooperation Council as one of its primary diplomatic interlocutors in the region. The Saudi leader signed during the visit the Delhi Declaration, which envisioned a common strategic framework for the bilateral relationship. Nuclear energy is also becoming a field of cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia, although at a much slower pace.
