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How China Became Saudi Arabia’s Largest Trading Partner

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Saudi Arabia turns to China for trade

Saudi Arabia’s Trade With China Surpasses the West

Over the past two decades, the economic presence of China has been growing significantly around the world.

The country has already surpassed the U.S. as the largest trading partner of developed nations such as Japan and the European Union.

But the world’s second largest economy is making significant inroads in the Middle East as well. This graphic by Ehsan Soltani uses data from the World Trade Organization (WTO) to chart Saudi Arabia’s trading history with the EU, the U.S, and China.

Evolving Trade Relations

With China’s imports from and exports to Saudi Arabia now exceeding the major oil-producing country’s combined trade with the U.S. and the EU, China has become Saudi Arabia’s dominant trading partner.

Saudi Arabia Net Trade by YearWith China ($B)With U.S. ($B)With EU-27 ($B)
2021$87.3B$25.1B$53.1B
2020$67.2B$20.6B$43.8B
2019$78.1B$28.3B$57.4B
2018$63.5B$38.2B$62.7B
2017$50.1B$36.0B$52.6B
2016$42.9B$36.0B$49.1B
2015$51.8B$43.2B$56.9B
2014$69.1B$67.1B$73.0B
2013$72.2B$72.1B$75.2B
2012$73.3B$75.3B$74.3B
2011$64.3B$62.7B$70.0B
2010$43.2B$44.1B$47.4B
2009$32.6B$34.0B$38.2B
2008$41.8B$69.5B$58.4B
2007$25.4B$47.6B$47.3B
2006$20.1B$40.9B$46.2B
2005$16.1B$35.7B$39.9B
2004$10.3B$27.8B$30.5B
2003$7.3B$24.1B$24.4B
2002$5.1B$18.7B$20.5B
2001$4.1B$19.2B$19.6B

Back in 2001, Saudi Arabia’s trade with China was a mere fraction—just one-tenth—of its combined trade with the EU and United States. While the total value of trade was modest at this time, it’s been increasing consistently almost every year since.

By the year 2011, China had surpassed the U.S. for the first time in bilateral trade value with Saudi Arabia. Then by 2018, trade between China and Saudi Arabia surpassed the Middle-Eastern country’s trade with the entire EU.

Fast forward to today, and China has emerged as a larger trading partner with Saudi Arabia than the rest of the West combined.

The Perfect Match?

China’s status as Saudi Arabia’s biggest trading partner makes sense considering its recent economic growth and focus.

China is the largest buyer of crude oil in the world, and it buys more from the Saudi Arabia than anywhere else. Almost half of the $87.3 billion bilateral trade between the two nations in 2021 was comprised of China’s crude oil imports. This accounted for 77% of China’s total imports from Saudi Arabia, which also included goods like plastic—a petroleum product.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, imported over $30 billion worth of goods including technological equipment, telephones, and light fixtures.

To see what other countries China has become the largest trading partner of, check out How China Overtook the U.S. as the World’s Major Trading Partner.
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This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.

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Ranked: U.S. Industries Where Companies Make the Most Profit

A snapshot of which sectors earn the most profit, based on the latest data. Spoiler: #1 is not Big Tech.

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Ranked: U.S. Industries With the Highest Profit Margins

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

The investment playbook for 2025 will be very different from 2024, with disruptions expected in trade, AI-spending, and energy markets.

But for an overall look into U.S. markets, here’s some data on which sectors can be generally expected to turn a profit and deliver returns.

In this chart, we rank the top U.S. industries by their average net profit margin in 2024. Data is sourced from Damodaran Online, a database maintained by Aswath Damodaran, faculty at the NYU Stern School of Business.

ℹ️ Average net margins are calculated off cumulative net income and sales from each publicly traded company in the industry in the past 12 months. Data last updated in January 2025. Please see the source’s methodology page for more background information.

Big Tobacco is Still Making Big Bucks

Big Tobacco’s business model is still thriving, as evidenced by the sector’s 32% net margin.

RankIndustry NameAverage
Net Margin
Example Firms# of Publicly-Traded
U.S. Firms
1Tobacco32.0%Philip Morris /
Altria Group
12
2Entertainment
Software
27.4%Meta / Alphabet81
3Retail REITs25.5%Simon Property
Group / Kimco Realty
Corporation
28
4Diversified25.2%Berkshire Hathaway /
Honeywell
International
21
5Rail Transportation24.3%Union Pacific /
Norfolk Southern
Corporation
4
6System &
Application Software
22.9%Microsoft / Oracle333
7Financial Services*22.3%Visa / Mastercard166
8Water Utilities21.3%American Water
Works / Essential
Utilities
15
9Semiconductor Equipment20.1%Applied Materials /
Lam Research
Corporation
30
10Semiconductor20.0%Nvidia / Broadcom63
11Oil & Gas
Production**
19.5%ConocoPhillips /
Diamondback Energy
147
12Asset Management17.6%BlackRock / Blackstone231
13Computers &
Peripherals
16.8%Apple / Dell35
14Oil & Gas
Distribution
16.2%The Williams
Companies / Kinder
Morgan
24
15General Utilities15.5%Sempra / Dominion14
16Beverages***14.1%Coca-Cola / Pepsi29
17REITs12.5%Prologis / Equinix192
18Homebuilding12.0%D.R. Horton /
Lennar Corporation
30
19Power11.3%NextEra Energy / The
Southern Company
48
20Construction Supplies11.2%Caterpillar / PACCAR46
21Real Estate
Development
11.1%AMREP Corporation /
Forestar Group
15
22Wireless Telecom10.8%T-Mobile / Gogo Inc11
23Restaurant/Dining10.6%McDonald's / Starbucks62
24Building Materials10.6%Carrier Global
Corporation / Lennox
International Inc
39
25Shipbuilding
& Marine
10.5%Kirby Corporation /
Matson, Inc
8
26Telecom Equipment10.5%Cisco Systems /
Motorola Solutions
61
27Household Products10.4%Procter & Gamble /
Colgate-Palmolive
101
28Shoes10.2%Nike / Steven Madden12
29Coal & Related Energy10.1%CONSOL Energy Inc /
Peabody Energy
Corporation
16
30Machinery10.0%Parker-Hannifin
Corporation / Illinois
Tool Works
109

Note: *Excludes banking. **Includes exploration. ***Excludes alcohol. To see how companies are categorized, download this file which lists company name, SIC code, and related industry grouping.

How are American tobacco companies still making so much money?

Briefly broken down: they sell an inexpensive and addictive product to a loyal customer base. Suppliers (farmers) have very little bargaining power, keeping their costs slow. And an advertisement ban prevents new players from entering the market.

And while adult smoking rates are trending downward in the U.S., emerging markets are more than offsetting U.S. sales declines.

Globally, the sector’s margin is even higher: at 50%. This translates into 50 cents in profit for every dollar of revenue earned.

Other Profitable Industries

Big Tech’s margins aren’t far behind Big Tobacco. The broader ad-driven space, including companies like Meta and Google, averages a 27% net margin.

The system and application software industry, with companies like Microsoft and Oracle, follow at 23%. And the semiconductor space (chipmakers, designers, and equipment manufacturers) also exceeds 20%.

The chart also highlights the structure of the U.S. market. Some industries are dominated by a few strong leaders (like shoes), while others, such as apps and financial services, have more firms.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

What industries are on the other end of the scale? Take a look through Ranked: U.S. Industries Where Companies Are Least Profitable for more insights.

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