Saudi Arabi was one of last Arab nations to establish diplomatic relations with China. But the two nations have made notable progress in building up their ties in the past decade.
China and Saudi Arabia didn't establish diplomatic ties until July, 1990. But now, Saudi Arabia is China's top trading partner, and number one crude oil supplier in West Asia for many years in a row.
The two nations have seen many top-level exchanges in recent years.
Saudi Arabia's late King Abdullah visited China both as the crown prince and after he succeeded to the throne.
His three-day visit to China in 2006 was the first to the country by a Saudi King, also his first visit outside of the Middle East as the Saudi King.
In 2008, Xi Jinping, who was then Vice President, visited Saudi Arabia as one stop of his first foreign trip in office.
In 2014, the current Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud visited Beijing as the heir to the crown.
These high-level visits demonstrate the strong willingness for the two nations' leaders to foster ties.
There have also been frequent bilateral cultural and people-to-people exchanges. Both countries have hosted cultural weeks for each other.
Recent years have seen record numbers of Saudis traveling to China.
While the number of Chinese Muslims making pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia each year is also on the rise.
Looking ahead, the two nations are expected to take ties even higher.
