As the global economic landscape continues to change and the demand for energy grows, governments and businesses are looking for new ways to achieve sustainable development. Especially for countries that depend on oil exports, economic diversification and energy transition have become urgent tasks. Against this backdrop, Saudi Arabia has proposed Vision 2030, an ambitious plan that aims not only to reduce dependence on oil, but also to promote comprehensive economic, social and cultural modernization.
Image source: Qunar.com
Vision 2030 embodies Saudi Arabia's vision for the future, with the aim of transforming the country into a global investment powerhouse and a pioneer in economic diversification through a series of reforms and innovations, while improving the quality of life for its citizens. The vision encompasses goals in a number of areas, including energy, economy, society and culture, with the aim of building a vibrant, prosperous and inclusive society. In the process of realizing Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is not only facing great opportunities, but also a series of challenges. From economic diversification and social liberalization to environmental protection, Saudi Arabia is gradually advancing reforms to address global issues such as international oil price fluctuations, economic globalization and climate change. This article examines the key developments and challenges facing Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, as well as its implications for the country's future development. Saudi Arabia, a country that once had little presence, is changing the global business landscape and attracting traffic from all over the world with a lot of money.
Saudi Arabia, which has shed its dependence on oil, is re-emerging
Saudi Arabia is precisely one of the preferred targets under this new logic. As the world's main oil exporter, Saudi Arabia will naturally not be short of money, and for a long time it has only been a resource country to make money, and then consume. The economies of countries that are closely tied to oil are actually not as perfect as they seem to outsiders. Before the sharp rise in global oil prices due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, cheap oil prices once left Saudi Arabia's treasury empty for eight consecutive years. Coupled with the intensifying wave of new energy around the world, the oil economy, a major pillar, can no longer support Saudi Arabia's growth in the future. With a clear trend of change, after the third generation of Saudi Arabia's leader, Salman Jr., came to power, Saudi Arabia began to make a big move to build a new economy free from oil dependence.
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In order to achieve this goal, Saudi Arabia has also made a very clear planning focus, which is "digitalization" and "new energy". The former can support a large number of cutting-edge technological innovations and industrial efficiency improvements, while the latter can help Saudi Arabia, a major country in oil resources, to embark on a new resource development route, and the strategic intention is very clear. Under the good planning, the challenges are also very obvious, Saudi Arabia does not have a solid digital and new energy infrastructure, and in terms of industry, Saudi Arabia does not have every link in the supply chain. Under the urgent need, Saudi Arabia "naturally" found China, which is currently in the first echelon of the digital and new energy track.
Of particular importance is digitalization, and China has made a series of remarkable achievements in terms of digital economy, cyber power, and digital China. According to the statistics of relevant national institutions, the scale of the mainland's digital economy will reach 50.2 trillion yuan in 2022, accounting for 41.5% of GDP, with a nominal growth of 10.3%, which has been higher than the GDP growth rate for 11 consecutive years.
In terms of cloud computing, which is the core link in the process of digitalization, China has also achieved rapid development. According to data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, the size of China's cloud computing market will reach 455 billion yuan in 2022, an increase of 40.9% from the end of the previous year, far exceeding the global cloud computing market by 19%. With the increase in the scale of the cloud computing market, the digitalization of traditional industries such as government affairs, finance, telecommunications, industry, transportation, and energy has also been continuously improved, which has in fact greatly accelerated the overall digital upgrading process of China. And these are precisely the capabilities necessary for the future transformation of Saudi Arabia, which has both money and leisure, and it is only natural to promote cooperation with China in the field of digital economy and cloud computing. With the extension and adaptation of China's digital capabilities in Saudi Arabia, it has also opened a big "easter egg" for Chinese enterprises.
The story of Saudi Arabia begins with Salman Jr.'s determination to reform
After Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud succeeded to the throne in 2015, especially after his son Mohammed bin Salman became crown prince in 2017, Saudi Arabia began to steadily and firmly promote the process of secularization reform, and the "iron plate" of doctrinal control was gradually loosened: the power of the religious police to investigate, arrest and interrogate was abolished; Wearing a black headscarf; requiring the service industry not to suspend business during daily worship hours; setting up art departments in colleges and universities; opening entertainment-themed activities such as "Riyadh Season" and "Jeddah Season"; inviting internationally famous pop singers, opera troupes, boxers, and racing drivers to perform and compete in Saudi Arabia at high prices; and opening cinemas, bowling alleys, video game halls, and other entertainment, leisure, and social venues. The measures pushed by Crown Prince Mohammed have ushered in a "spring" for Saudi women. In the "Miss Universe Asia 2024" pageant held in Malaysia at the beginning of this year, Rumi Qahtani represented Saudi Arabia in the competition, allowing the world to appreciate the beauty of Saudi women for the first time. Similar changes are taking place in all areas of Saudi women's lives.
Photo: Mohammed bin Salman Image source: NetEase News
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has gradually allowed women to drive, and then began issuing driver's licenses to women. This has even spawned a wave of driving schools in Saudi Arabia. In the same year, Saudi Arabia allowed women to enter stadiums for the first time to watch games and concerts, and lifted the rule that "men and women must not mix in public". Since 2019, Saudi women over the age of 21 have been able to apply for passports to travel abroad alone without the need to ask for the consent of a male "guardian", effectively ending the so-called "adult woman guardianship rule".
Western diplomats in Riyadh called Salman Jr. "Mr. Everything." In diplomatic circles, Salman Jr.'s policies are recognized as "decisive" and even somewhat "reckless". During his tenure as defense minister, Saudi Arabia launched a "decisive storm" military operation in Yemen, carrying out airstrikes against Houthi rebels; He also led the formation of a coalition of 35 Islamic countries against terrorism. Outside of his political life, Salman Jr. is full of youthful energy. According to the staff around him, Salman Jr. likes water skiing and other water sports and is a big "fan" of Apple products. Japan is his favorite country. A few years ago, he and his new wife went to Japan and the Maldives for their honeymoon. Not only that, but he has held meetings to discuss the use of Twitter and YouTube, and has sought to showcase Arab culture with Japanese-style cartoons. Reuters reported that young people in Saudi Arabia support the young Salman Jr. to become crown prince, believing that it is symbolic for the younger generation of Saudi Arabia and a sign that young people will play a greater role in governing the country. It is reported that more than half of the population in Saudi Arabia is young people under the age of 25.
Salman Jr. has been a voice for change in Saudi Arabia for the past two years. His support for Saudi Aramco's possible IPO next year has helped to push the Saudi economy on a path of privatization, creating jobs for young people and attracting foreign investment outside the oil industry. Despite resistance to reform, the pace of social reform and secularization in Saudi Arabia continues to be remarkable. Public opinion generally believes that the success or failure of secularization reform will largely determine whether Saudi Arabia can achieve the "Vision 2030" and become a global investment power and an international logistics center.
The Power of Oil and Banknotes:
Aramco helped the Saudi dynasty rewrite the global economic order
Saudi Aramco, also known as Saudi Aramco, in order to finance the Kingdom's transformation, the originally nationalized Saudi Aramco carried out a shareholding reform and listed on the Riyadh Stock Exchange at the end of 2019, with a total market capitalization of $1.88 trillion. The IPO set a global record for the size of the IPO, raising $29.4 billion from just 1.5% of the shares. $29.4 billion is astronomical for most companies, but it's a drop in the bucket for a giant like Saudi Aramco. Last year, Aramco's net profit increased 46% year-on-year to $161.1 billion. Both the funds raised from the IPO and the profits from Saudi Aramco are used for Salman Jr.'s Vision 2030 plan. Vision 2030 is a reform plan that sets out three vision goals for Saudi Arabia: the heart of the Arab and Islamic world, a global investment powerhouse, and a hub for Asia, Europe and Africa. The conservative Islamic country has also opened up, with cinemas reopening since 1979, women being free to apply for passports to travel and drive, and restrictions on foreign visitors being greatly reduced.
Image Credit: New Economy in the Middle East
At the Global AI Conference in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi National Center for Artificial Intelligence signed a cooperation agreement with Huawei to address AI-related capabilities in the Arabic language. According to the data, HUAWEI CLOUD recently released the first commercial Arabic Pangu Model 3.0 with 100 billion parameters in Saudi Arabia. In the field of new energy vehicles, many companies that have fallen behind in the Chinese market have attracted the attention of Saudi capital. Gaohe, who claims to be the "champion of more than 500,000 luxury pure electric sales", actually sells less than 400 per month. Aramco has also invested in a joint venture between Geely and Renault to develop next-generation synthetic fuels and hydrogen technologies. The aforementioned Chinese companies such as Pony.ai, Banma.ai, YITU Technology, BeyonCa, and Hi-Hop Automobile have also received investment from Saudi capital. Traditional car companies have long established themselves in Saudi Arabia. According to statistics, the annual sales of SAIC, Great Wall, Changan, Geely and other brands in Saudi Arabia all exceed 10,000 units.
Lucid, an American electric vehicle company, has opened its first factory outside the United States in Saudi Arabia, with an initial annual production capacity of 5,000 electric vehicles. The reason why Lucid landed in Saudi Arabia is not only because the Saudi government has promised to buy up to 100,000 cars from the company within 10 years, but also because Lucid is the company with the highest shareholding ratio of PIF, with the latest shareholding of 60.60%. It's not just Chinese auto companies that are making money in Saudi Arabia.
The rise of Saudi Arabia is a microcosm of the collective transformation of Middle Eastern countries. Middle Eastern countries are highly dependent on oil, and with the transformation of energy structure, carbon emissions, pressure on environmental governance, and cyclical fluctuations in oil and gas prices have forced them to carry out economic transformation. In addition to Saudi Arabia, the UAE has also proposed the 2030 plan and competes with Saudi Arabia in shipping, aviation, technology and other fields. With abundant funds, blank industries and huge development potential, there are many opportunities hidden in the Middle East in the future for Chinese companies that are interested in overseas development.
Source: Business Circle, Tiger Sniff APP, Global Times
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