RIYADH: Foreign direct investment from China into Saudi Arabia rose in 2024, with total Chinese FDI stock reaching SR31.1 billion ($8.2 billion), up from SR24.1 billion in 2023, a 28.8 percent increase.
Investment inflows jumped 164 percent year on year to SR8.6 billion, while net inflows more than tripled to SR7 billion, highlighting growing investor confidence in the Kingdom’s market and the strengthening economic partnership with China, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
The rise in Chinese FDI comes as Saudi Arabia intensifies efforts to diversify its economy under Vision 2030.
Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih is leading a high-level delegation to China from Aug. 24-29. The visit falls under the Saudi-Chinese High-Level Joint Committee framework and the Joint Committee on Trade, Investment, and Technology, co-chaired by Al-Falih and Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao. The fifth meeting of this committee was held in May 2025.
Bilateral trade between the two nations exceeds $100 billion annually, making China Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partner.
Chinese investments are concentrated in manufacturing but also span financial services, insurance, construction, mining, technology, trade, infrastructure, and healthcare.
During the visit, discussions in Shanghai will focus on petrochemical and industrial value chains, while Beijing meetings will explore financial partnerships and collaboration with state-owned enterprises.
The delegation will also visit industrial facilities and participate in capital market activities in Hong Kong.
The visit builds on previous milestones in bilateral cooperation, including the Saudi-Chinese Investment Forum in December 2023, which brought together 1,200 government and private sector leaders and resulted in over 60 memorandums of understanding across sectors, including energy, agriculture, tourism, mining, finance, logistics, infrastructure, technology, and healthcare.
Al-Falih also participated in the China-GCC Industrial and Investment Cooperation Forum in May 2024, attended by over 50 Saudi officials and business leaders.
