Seek Fact From Texts: Saudi Media on China Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract Have Saudi relations with China changed amid the COVID-19 pandemic? Commentary focussed on the international relations of the Persian Gulf has speculated that China’s successful containment of the virus at home, combined with new diplomatic overtures, might lead to closer relations between China and the region. This article offers a framework for scholars to partially address this and other foreign-policy questions regarding the Kingdom, through close readings of Saudi media outlets that shed light on mass attitudes and elite sentiment. Analysis of a range of Saudi op-eds and feature stories suggests that criticism of China within the Kingdom has diminished in recent years, but also indicates that this shift long predated the present pandemic. At the same time, while key commentators appear to harbour genuine respect and admiration for China’s economic development, Saudi Arabia’s close security partnership with the United States has served to temper pro-Chinese narratives within Saudi media.