Investment agreements worth about $50 billion were signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Riyadh. The agreements cover both private and public sectors, Investment Minister Khalid A. Al-Falih told Bloomberg. He did not specify whether the figure also reflected agreements involving other Arab countries, whose leaders also attended meetings with the Chinese delegation.

Last week's summit, at which Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, demonstrated a deepening of Gulf ties with Beijing. But while there were warm words about unity between China and the Middle East during the visit, most of the announced agreements were memorandums of understanding, with no clear timelines or commitments.

China seeks to increase coordination with Saudi Arabia and its neighbors on energy policy and intelligence. The kingdom, along with Russia, is the leader of OPEC+, a cartel of producers that produces about half the world's oil.