Islamabad: According to experts, improved ties between Saudi Arabia and China will be beneficial for Pakistan as more funds for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor are expected to flow from Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Saudi Arabia.

On Wednesday, Xi began a three-day visit to Riyadh with the goal of boosting trade ties and signing a "strategic agreement" between the regional powers.

The Chinese leader was scheduled to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other heads of state from Gulf Arab countries when Saudi Arabia hosts a summit between China and the Arab world in its capital.

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During Xi's visit, more than 20 preliminary contracts worth more than $29.3 billion were expected to be signed between China and Saudi Arabia. The strategy to coordinate the implementation of Vision 2030 and China's Belt and Road Initiative was also being discussed by the two countries.

In Xi's meetings with the crown prince, the CPEC, a $65 billion economic corridor in Pakistan that links China to the Arabian Sea and is a part of Beijing's infrastructure initiative, was also expected to figure.

The visit will help in this regard as China is the primary driver of both the megaprojects, and Saudi Arabia is interested in participating in the BRI along with investing heavily in the CPEC. Naghmana Hashmi, former Ambassador of Pakistan to China,

Saudi Arabia is one of the countries that have expressed interest in financing the CPEC, along with the United Arab Emirates and Germany. According to the Kingdom's plans announced in 2019, a $10 billion oil refinery will be built in Pakistan's deep-water port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea.

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CPEC is a massive initiative involving a wide variety of industries including agriculture, power generation and road construction. It has been promoted in the South Asian nation, where the average person makes only $125 per month, as a massive development initiative that will bring new prosperity.

According to Hashmi, Pakistan will benefit from the growing friendship between China and Saudi Arabia as the two countries have excellent relations and are our strong allies.

According to international relations expert Zafar Jaspal, the visit will "open the way for Saudi investments" and have a "constructive and positive impact on the CPEC".

Dr. Huma Bakai, an expert on international relations and head of the Millennium Institute of Technology and Entrepreneurship in Karachi, believes Xi's visit to Riyadh could act as a "great convergence point" between Pakistan, China and Saudi Arabia.

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He told Arab News that the visit could provide the necessary impetus to the planned Saudi investment in the BRI's flagship project.