A reference map and timeline of the China-Gulf relationship: countries, capitals, agreements, and milestones.
The six GCC member states and China are highlighted on the map. Hover any country for its name, click to read its bilateral context, and scroll or drag to explore.
Selected bilateral and multilateral milestones in the China-Gulf relationship since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Xi Jinping announces the Silk Road Economic Belt during a state visit to Kazakhstan. The initiative becomes the principal framework for Chinese infrastructure investment in the Gulf over the following decade.
ChinaVisits to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Iran establish the pattern of high-level Chinese state diplomacy across the region and produce a comprehensive strategic partnership with Riyadh.
China · Saudi Arabia · Iran · EgyptChinese consortium investment in the Duqm Special Economic Zone establishes one of the largest Belt and Road maritime industrial deployments in the Gulf, building out an industrial city around the port.
Oman · ChinaKing Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud leads a high-level Saudi delegation to Beijing, signing a broad package of investment, energy, and technology agreements that reset the bilateral relationship.
Saudi ArabiaPresident Xi Jinping's first state visit to the UAE results in the UAE-China Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, formalising one of China's most extensive bilateral relationships in the Gulf.
UAE · ChinaSheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah's state visit to Beijing upgrades the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership and aligns Kuwait Vision 2035 and the Silk City project with the Belt and Road framework.
Kuwait · ChinaQatarEnergy and Sinopec sign a 27-year LNG sales and purchase agreement covering supply from the North Field expansion. It is the longest LNG supply deal on record.
Qatar · ChinaThe first China-GCC Summit, held in Riyadh during Xi Jinping's three-day state visit and alongside the parallel China-Arab States Summit, sets the framework for a wide-ranging package of energy, technology, and infrastructure agreements between Beijing and the Gulf capitals.
GCC · ChinaA Beijing-brokered agreement restores diplomatic relations between Riyadh and Tehran after seven years of severance, marking China's most prominent diplomatic intervention in the region to date.
Saudi Arabia · Iran · ChinaMohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan undertakes a state visit to China, advancing energy, technology, and sovereign-wealth cooperation between Abu Dhabi and Beijing.
UAEForeign ministers from across the Arab world convene in Beijing for the tenth ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, advancing a shared agenda on trade, technology, and infrastructure.
China · Arab StatesKing Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa's state visit to Beijing results in a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the highest tier of bilateral relationship Beijing extends, marking a step up in the Bahrain-China file.
Bahrain · ChinaAll six GCC capitals record state visits and signed agreements with Beijing during the month, covered in SGI's monthly review.
GCC · China Read the monthly review →