A genuine question.
Has China ever been this strategically involved with a foreign country not named Russia or North Korea as China is with Saudi Arabia currently?
I am talking about the economic aspect (the 2020 Saudi Arabia-China trade volume stood at 65.2 billion USD), strategic economic cooperation (Saudi Arabia exports most of China's oil imports), Belt and Road Initiative, the military aspect (has China ever exported the DF-3 and DF-21 to anyone but Saudi Arabia?), drone exports, drone factory setup, first confirmed kill using the Chinese laser air defense system "Silent Hunter", China helping setup the domestic Saudi Arabian ballistic missile program, China helping excavate uranium within KSA and now news of the FC-31. I probably forgot a lot of other stuff.
Speaking about it, article from 4 days ago in Chinese media.
Chinese, Saudi Arabian FMs vow to deepen comprehensive strategic partnership
21:05, 08-Jul-2022
China will continue to firmly support Saudi Arabia in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and stability, and oppose any acts of interference in Saudi Arabia's internal affairs, said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday.
He made the remarks when meeting with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) foreign ministers' meeting held in Bali, Indonesia.
China and Saudi Arabia have, as always, firmly supported each other over issues concerning their core interests, which demonstrated the important value of the China-Saudi Arabia comprehensive strategic partnership, he said.
For his part, Faisal said Saudi Arabia remains firmly committed to the one-China policy and has always stood against any foreign interference in China's internal affairs, adding that Saudi Arabia is ready to deepen the all-dimensional cooperation with China.
Both sides agreed to elevate the cooperation between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council to a higher level, speed up the negotiation on the China-GCC free trade agreement, and enhance communication and coordination within multilateral platforms including the United Nations, the G20 and the BRICS mechanism.
(Cover: Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. /China's Foreign Ministry)
China will continue to firmly support Saudi Arabia in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and stability, oppose any acts of interference in Saudi Arabia's internal affairs, said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday.
news.cgtn.com
It is a really special relationship that is not much talked about in the media. Just like how both countries would prefer it, I suspect.
The US would never export the F-22 to KSA. It has never exported it to any country and KSA would not even be considered as an export destination IMO.
The F-35 is an "unfinished" product. A lot of problems with power modules effecting almost 10% of the F-35 to date, rendering them inoperable. Problems with the Block 4 updates as well.
If one follows news, it is quite noticeable that KSA have been moving away from the USA when it comes to key strategic areas. Instead wisely opting to go with China while still engaging/keeping ties intact with the US. I think that this development will continue.
Of course KSA signing an official peace treaty with its neighbor Israel could change a lot of things, in particularly in terms of media coverage in the US and the heavy Jewish influence within the US for the better long-term. We will have to see.
