Southern China Airlines inaugurated its first regular direct passenger service from mainland China to Saudi Arabia, with its maiden flight departing from Beijing to Riyadh on Tuesday, according to Xinhua News Agency.
The flight, operated by an Airbus A330-300 aircraft, will run every Tuesday and Saturday, with a duration of nearly 10 hours, according to the company.
This move marks the latest sign of rapprochement between the two countries, following the launch of Saudi Arabian Airlines’ first direct and regular flights to Beijing in August 2023.
On September 26, 2023, Saudi Arabia and China signed agreements during which Saudi Arabia designated China as a tourist destination and granted Chinese tourists visa-free access to the Kingdom for tourist groups.
The agreement is expected to contribute to boosting the number of Chinese visitors to Saudi Arabia to 3 million annually by 2030, according to Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khatib at the time.
Saudi Arabia included Chinese citizens among the nationals of 57 countries eligible for electronic visas and introduced visa-on-arrival facilities for travelers arriving from 96 destinations, including China.
The Saudi “Spirit of Hospitality” initiative aimed at facilitating tourist arrivals was launched, along with electronic visa services aimed at streamlining the entry process for Chinese travelers.
The tourism sector is one of the pillars of “Vision 2030,” and China is the world’s largest source of tourists.
Therefore, the launch of the new route is an important step in supporting economic diversification in the Kingdom by attracting Chinese tourists and increasing growth in the sector.
Approximately 112 million passengers traveled through Saudi airports in 2023, representing a record air traffic movement for the Kingdom.
According to the General Authority of Civil Aviation, this figure increased by 26% annually, surpassing the number of arrivals during the same period in 2019, before the pandemic led to the suspension of airlines worldwide.
In February 2024, Saudi Arabia and China signed a memorandum of understanding in the aviation field, covering areas of cooperation, increasing the number of stations, driving the growth of air transport, and developing and organizing frameworks for cooperation in the field of air transport and cargo between the two countries.
Additionally, there was a preliminary agreement to update the existing agreement between the two countries to enhance global connectivity, trade exchange, and support economic growth between the Kingdom and China.
At the end of 2023, Saudi Arabia and China signed over 60 memoranda of understanding and agreements worth over $25 billion, confirming the growing partnership between the largest Arab economy and the world’s second-largest economy.
These new agreements and memoranda of understanding are in addition to the investment agreements signed by Riyadh and Beijing during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s historic visit to the Kingdom in late 2022, totaling around $50 billion.
These agreements covered many sectors serving the goals of “Vision 2030” and China’s “Belt and Road Initiative.”
