How dependent is Saudi Arabia on China?

and 174 more

A product has a dominant supplier when a single country sells more than 50% of what is bought of it; we flag it separately above 75%.

• China sells 46.2% of what the world exports of cameras and broadcast equipment; next come Vietnam (13.1%), Taiwan (4.4%) and India (4.3%). The rest of the world exported 54 times what Saudi Arabia buys from China.
• China sells 39.2% of what the world exports of diodes, transistors and solar cells; next come Malaysia (8.6%), Japan (7.4%) and Vietnam (5.9%). The rest of the world exported 47.2 times what Saudi Arabia buys from China.
• China sells 28.1% of what the world exports of hot-rolled flat steel; next come Japan (13.9%), South Korea (9%) and Germany (4.5%). The rest of the world exported 28.7 times what Saudi Arabia buys from China.
• China sells 38.7% of what the world exports of computers; next come Taiwan (14.2%), Mexico (12.6%) and Vietnam (7%). The rest of the world exported 169.9 times what Saudi Arabia buys from China.
• China sells 39.4% of what the world exports of air conditioners; next come Thailand (11.7%), Mexico (11.7%) and United States (4.2%). The rest of the world exported 30.5 times what Saudi Arabia buys from China.
• China sells 59.2% of what the world exports of lamps and light fittings; next come Germany (4.7%), Mexico (4%) and Italy (3.6%). The rest of the world exported 18.5 times what Saudi Arabia buys from China.
• China sells 22.8% of what the world exports of new tires; next come Thailand (8%), Japan (6%) and Germany (5.3%). The rest of the world exported 89.8 times what Saudi Arabia buys from China.
• China sells 30.8% of what the world exports of furniture; next come Vietnam (10.4%), Italy (7.3%) and Germany (7%). The rest of the world exported 99.5 times what Saudi Arabia buys from China.
• China sells 50.8% of what the world exports of batteries; next come South Korea (6.1%), United States (5.4%) and Poland (5.4%). The rest of the world exported 111.8 times what Saudi Arabia buys from China.
• China sells 37.2% of what the world exports of bags, suitcases and cases; next come Italy (14.9%), France (14.7%) and Vietnam (6%). The rest of the world exported 84.1 times what Saudi Arabia buys from China.

Exports from the rest of the world already have buyers; the figure shows scale, not availability.

Saudi Arabia is China’s 23rd-largest customer, with 1.5% of its exports.

• Trade between Saudi Arabia and China
• Who does Saudi Arabia rely on?
• Who does China rely on?
• Dependence of Saudi Arabia on Switzerland
• Dependence of Saudi Arabia on India
• Dependence of Saudi Arabia on Brazil
• Dependence of Saudi Arabia on the United States
• Dependence of Saudi Arabia on Indonesia
• Dependence of Saudi Arabia on Canada
• Dependence of Saudi Arabia on the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Dependence of Saudi Arabia on Oman
• Dependence of Saudi Arabia on Sudan
• Dependence of Saudi Arabia on Argentina
• Trade profile of Saudi Arabia
• Trade profile of China
• All countries

Sources and licenses

• CEPII BACI · Licence Ouverte Etalab 2.0
• Natural Earth · Public domain

Methodology

The data come from CEPII BACI (Etalab 2.0 licence), which reconciles what the exporting and the importing country report, in current USD, FOB. Data up to 2024.

Dependence is the share of a country’s imports (or exports) that each partner accounts for. It does not measure whether a product has a substitute or how much it would cost to change supplier.

The concentration index (HHI) adds up the square of each partner’s share, in percent: it runs from 0 to 10,000. Its equivalent is 10,000 ÷ HHI, the number of partners of the same size that would give that value.

Products are HS4 headings of the 1992 nomenclature (some combine different goods), with a floor of $1 million per product and country.

The EU is the 27 current members in every year; the United Kingdom is outside the EU throughout the series.

Re-exports: countries that act as redistribution hubs carry their notice and the figures are not corrected.