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Saudi Arabia is the largest economy in the Arab region, with a GDP of US$832.4 billion in 2021. As the Middle East’s largest end‑user market for medical products and services, it also ranks first in the region in per capita healthcare spending. Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the Gulf region and also the fastest-growing in terms of population. The current population has exceeded 35 million.

Due to the underdeveloped domestic medical device industry, Saudi Arabia’s medical device market is highly price-sensitive and heavily reliant on imports. —Primarily imported from countries such as the United States, Germany, Japan, and China. Imported products account for more than 90% of the market share. Future demand will focus on imaging equipment—including X-ray machines, CT scanners, and ultrasound diagnostic devices—as well as surgical instruments, dialysis equipment, anesthesia devices, in vitro diagnostic products, and everyday hospital consumables.

Saudi Arabia is not only the largest market for medical products and services in the Middle East, but its per capita healthcare expenditure also ranks among the highest in the region. Meanwhile, as one of the Middle East’s three major medical-device markets, it is ushering in unprecedented growth opportunities for the biopharmaceutical and medical-device industries. With rapid population growth and steadily rising per capita incomes, healthcare spending continues to expand. By 2030, Saudi Arabia’s population is expected to approach 40 million. In the 2022 export data for China’s 12 West Asian countries, Saudi Arabia, along with Turkey, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates, ranked among the top four. Among them, the Saudi Arabian medical device market has exhibited particularly remarkable growth, demonstrating strong development potential.

Tariff exemptions: Saudi Arabia grants tariff-free treatment to pharmaceuticals, medical reagents, blood products, veterinary medicines, and medical consumables, while imposing a reduced 5% tariff on most medical devices, including medical equipment and artificial prostheses.

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 aims to drive economic diversification, particularly in sectors such as healthcare, entertainment, tourism, and education. To achieve this goal, the Kingdom plans to invest $65 billion in healthcare infrastructure, with an anticipated privatization of 290 hospitals and 2,300 primary care centers by 2030. In 2023, Saudi Arabia allocated a budget of $50 billion to health and social development, underscoring the sector’s substantial growth potential and lucrative opportunities. As a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Saudi Arabia accounts for 59% of the region’s total healthcare spending, which exceeds $100 billion. With its ambitious development agenda steadily unfolding, coupled with rapid population growth and a booming tourism industry, Saudi Arabia’s growing demand for advanced medical facilities is further fueling the rapid expansion of the healthcare market.

On March 10, 2023, China, Saudi Arabia, and Iran signed and issued a joint statement, announcing that the two countries have agreed to restore diplomatic relations and emphasizing their commitment to work together to strengthen international and regional peace and security. The resumption of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran will unlock substantial development dividends, helping the Belt and Road Initiative achieve deeper connectivity in the Middle East, the Gulf region, West Asia and North Africa, and beyond. As the largest trading partner of both Saudi Arabia and Iran, Energy trade between China and these two pivotal energy-producing countries—both of which are comprehensive strategic partners—will increasingly be settled in their respective local currencies, thereby advancing the quality and sophistication of the renminbi’s internationalization.

In June 2023, on the first day of the 10th Entrepreneurs’ Conference of the China–Arab States Cooperation Forum, China and Arab countries signed agreements covering technology, renewable energy, agriculture, real estate, minerals, logistics, tourism, and… Thirty investment agreements in the healthcare sector total 37.5 billion Saudi riyals, equivalent to over 10 billion U.S. dollars.