Explainer | Why is Saudi Arabia looking to China to buy weapons after years of arms deals with the US?

Chinese media reported Saudi Arabia bought US$4 billion weapons after the Zhuhai Air Show in November, a much bigger sale than previous deals
The Yemen war, journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder and the Opec+ decision to cut oil output by 2 million barrels a day have affected US-Saudi defence deals

China’s military

Kawala Xie

Published: 12:00pm, 8 Dec 2022

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As the world’s largest defence spender, Saudi Arabia has sourced weapons from a variety of countries and in the past has imported mostly from the US.

But amid increased tension with Washington in recent years following the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 and in light of the recent Opec+ oil dispute, Riyadh is actively looking to diversify its weapon sources, with China now considered a top alternative.

Chinese media recently reported that Saudi Arabia bought US$4 billion worth of weapons after the Zhuhai Air Show in November, a sale much larger than their previous arms deal, according to observers.

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The arms trade between China and Saudi Arabia dates back to the late 1980s, after the two countries held their first official meetings in 1985. They officially established ties in 1990.

The number of arms deals on the public record is not significant, and they were mostly drones, a category for which China has gained an international reputation for great performance at a fair price.

Here, we explain the types of weapons that Saudi Arabia has bought from both China and the US in the past, their uses, and Riyadh’s potential future interest in Chinese weapons.

What weapons does Saudi Arabia buy from China?

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Saudi Arabia’s first known arms deal with China, and so far the only public missile purchase, was the DF-3 medium-range nuclear missiles it bought in 1986. Saudi Arabia bought 50 DF-3 missiles with conventional warheads.

Riyadh since bought 54 PLZ-45 self-propelled guns in 2007, five CH-4B drones in 2014 and more than 30 Wing Loong-1 and 2 armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in 2014 and 2017.

The CH-4 armed reconnaissance drones have been used in major battlefields in the Yemen war and also recently by the Pakistani forces to fight militants in Balochistan. It was reportedly the most sold item – up to 300 – to Saudi Arabia during the Zhuhai Air Show, although the deal has not been confirmed by Riyadh or Beijing.

The Wing Loong UAV, a medium-attitude, long-endurance drone that can also be armed with missiles. Its third generation, an intercontinental drone that can fly 10,000km, made its debut at the Zhuhai show this year.

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The reported order at the Zhuhai Air Show also included a production line of TB001 UAVs, also a medium-altitude, long-endurance combat drone that the PLA started to use on patrols near Taiwan this year; YJ-21 anti-ship ballistic missiles, a carrier-based hypersonic missile with combat range of over 2,000km (1,200 miles); and the “Silent Hunter” anti-drone laser-based systems.

Besides sales on the public record, China reportedly secretly sold DF-21 missiles to Riyadh in 2007, with the CIA’s approval after finding the missiles were not nuclear-capable. Some observers say that compared with the DF-3, the DF-21 is much more accurate and is sometimes called a “carrier killer”.

US intelligence revealed last year that China had been helping Riyadh develop its own ballistic missiles at a site west of Riyadh.

What weapons does Saudi Arabia buy from the US?

The US has been the biggest provider of arms to Saudi Arabia for years, and the weapons it provides include offensive and defensive weapons, and heavy weapons such as combat helicopters, missiles, frigates and guided bombs.

Despite tensions with the US after Joe Biden vowed to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah nation” following the death of Khashoggi and an awkward encounter between the US President and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Biden approved a US$3 billion deal to sell Patriot missiles to Riyadh in August.

Some 280 air-to-air missiles with a value of US$650 million were also sold to Riyadh in 2021.

How has the US restricted arm sales to Saudi Arabia?

The US has continued sales of defensive weapons to Riyadh but has suspended sales of offensive weapons because of the Saudis’ actions in the Yemen war fought against Houthi forces since 2015. Former US president Barack Obama issued a similar suspension in 2016 after the war claimed massive civilian casualties.

The recent dispute over the Saudi-led Opec+ decision to cut oil output by 2 million barrels per day has frustrated the US due to the ripples it may cause in the US economy. Biden warned of “consequences” for Saudi Arabia following the decision, with calls from Congress to suspend arms sales to Riyadh for one year.

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What weapons might Saudi Arabia seek from China?

Zhou Chenming, a military analyst at the Beijing-based Yuan Wang military science and technology think tank said China would be cautious for fear of triggering a “regional arms race”.

He said Saudi Arabia could be interested in land-based equipment from China – such as tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery – which had proven capabilities according to Pakistani soldiers reporting in Saudi Arabia. Long-range rocket artillery could be an option too, according to Zhou.

Referring to the rumoured sale of China’s J-10 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, Zhou said it would be unlikely for at least the next few years while the Saudi Air Force was equipped with the US-made F-15 and F-16. He said the US might intervene to prevent such sales.

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China was also reportedly looking to sell its twin-engined FC-31 stealth fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. The fifth-generation jets are often compared with US F-35 planes.

Tuvia Gering, a researcher at the Israel-China Policy Centre at the Institute for National Security Studies said Riyadh might be hesitant to buy “big ticket weapons” – combat helicopters, fighter jets, and air defence systems – however it might be interested in future weapon systems, such as underwater drones, AI tech, autonomous systems, swarm drones, surveillance, satellites, advanced lasers, supersonics and hypersonics.