Economy | Robert Lawrence Kuhn and Florence Eid-Oakden

Kingdom is natural hub as China approaches the Middle East and North Africa

If a global strategic realignment is taking shape and a new global order emerging, one element links Beijing and Riyadh. International relations have become more complex - "multi-polar" as some say - and emerging nations, particularly China and India in terms of size, and Saudi Arabia in terms of energy, are playing larger roles.