United States

How China Became Saudi Arabia’s Largest Trading Partner

Published

7 months ago

February 19, 2023

Ehsan Soltani

Featured Creator

Article/Editing:

Freny Fernandes

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 Year	With 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.

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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Markets

Visualizing the Most Sought-After Entry Level Jobs in 2023

Some jobs need a degree, while others don’t. Here are the top 20 most sought-after entry level jobs with and without a degree.

Published

10 hours ago

September 29, 2023

Freny Fernandes

The Most Sought-After Entry Level Jobs of 2023

In the fast-paced realm of job hunting, staying ahead of the curve is crucial. And if you are an entry-level job applicant, the pressure is a notch higher.

New entrants in any job market today compete with groundbreaking technology like ChatGPT in addition to their peers. In the United States, these applicants have to also wade through an uncertain labor market, inflation, and long lists of job requirements.

Indeed.com has identified the most sought-after entry level positions for applicants both with and without a degree in the U.S., and the year-on-year growth of these job postings.

Most Sought-After Entry-Level Jobs With a Degree

As the U.S. job market recovers from its pandemic slump, some careers are now booming. This in turn has opened up numerous opportunities for entry-level job applicants.

Rank	Job Title	Average Annual Salary	Change in Postings (2022‒2023)
1	Outside Sales Representative	$60,000	+258%
2	Transportation Coordinator	$47,500	+227%
3	Quality Auditor	$84,500	+131%
4	Accounting	$52,000	+125%
5	Tax Preparer	$67,500	+123%
6	Loan Processor	$55,000	+100%
7	Retention Specialist	$50,000	+100%
8	Network Operations Technician	$85,500	+94%
9	Mental Health Manager	$42,000	+93%
10	Speech-Language Pathologist	$60,000	+84%
11	Geotechnical Engineer	$65,000	+80%
12	Patient Access Manager	$90,000	+77%
13	HR Coordinator	$67,500	+75%
14	Lead Generation Specialist	$62,500	+73%
15	Design Coordinator	$55,000	+73%
16	Pharmaceutical Sales Representative	$74,378	+71%
17	Behavioral Therapist	$50,000	+68%
18	Special Events Coordinator	$54,000	+67%
19	IT Engineer	$92,500	+67%
20	Structural Engineer	$90,000	+63%

The demand for sales jobs multiplied this year as customer-facing businesses slowly returned to their pre-pandemic levels.

At the top of this list is the job for an Outside Sales Representative. Paying upwards of $60,000, postings for this job have grown by over 250% in a year, making it the most sought-after position for applicants with a degree.

The healthcare industry has secured its place in the top ranks too. Careers including mental health case managers, speech pathologists, behavioral therapists, and patient access managers dominate the Top 20 list.

Let’s not forget about the tech sector. While entry-level network technicians can earn upwards of $85,000 on average, while IT engineers are paid an entry package of over $90,000.

Most Sought-After Entry-Level Jobs Without a Degree

Nearly 65% of the U.S. working population does not have a four-year degree. However, millions of these workers continue to be highly skilled across professions and have a shot at some of the most sought-after entry level jobs in the country.

Rank	Job Title	Average Annual Salary	Change in Postings (2022‒2023)
1	Inventory Manager	$59,000	+189%
2	Auto Body Technician	$82,500	+100%
3	Environmental Health and Safety Specialist	$65,000	+100%
4	Salon Manager	$41,000	+95%
5	Drafting Technician	$50,000	+94%
6	Business Analyst	$72,500	+82%
7	Sheet Metal Mechanic	$62,140	+67%
8	Aircraft Maintenance Technician	$57,500	+64%
9	Catering Manager	$47,500	+56%
10	Transportation/Logistics Coordinator	$62,500	+53%
11	Route Sales Representative	$50,000	+51%
12	Rental Agent	$45,520	+50%
13	Distribution Center Coordinator	$52,500	+47%
14	General Maintenance Technician	$40,650	+46%
15	Patient Care Coordinator	$43,152	+44%
16	Forestry Technician	$45,760	+43%
17	Relationship Banker	$43,576	+43%
18	Field Sales Representative	$57,018	+42%
19	Park Ranger	$45,912	+42%
20	Warehouse Receiver	$45,000	+39%

One example of this job is that of an Inventory Manager. The demand for skilled inventory managers in warehouses and companies post-pandemic has doubled the position’s job share in a year.

One of the highest paying non-degree jobs in this list—Auto Body Technician—can fetch highly-skilled entry-level workers a salary of $82,000 per year.

These jobs don’t seem to require a degree according to Indeed. However, the rising competition for these positions might give the upper edge to applicants with one, especially for jobs on the list such as Business Analyst and Relationship Banker.