Source：Chinese and Arab Studies, Vol. 3, Iss. 1, 2023

Abstract：People-to-people and cultural exchanges shape political mutual trust based on value recognition, which constitutes the premise and foundation for the establishment of a long-term stable cooperative relationship between China and Saudi Arabia, and has become a significant driving force for China and Saudi Arabia to surpass their traditional energy partnership and build an all-round cooperation pattern. While consolidating cooperation in traditional fields, China and Saudi Arabia are also constantly developing new areas of cooperation and growth points. People-to-people exchanges between the two sides are witnessing new trends in the rise of youth exchanges, the heating up of “Chinese fever”, the exploration of joint archaeology and digital transformation, while still facing a series of challenges such as periodic turmoil in the Middle East, differences in national conditions, discourse interference, lagging software and hardware construction, limited supply of cultural products, and low accuracy of cultural communication. In the future, China and Saudi Arabia need deepen their people-to-people and cultural exchanges by improving the strategic layout, strengthening resource allocation, innovating communication forms and achieving the integration of culture and tourism, thus these exchanges can play a more prominent role in promoting a new pattern of China-Saudi relations that goes beyond traditional energy partnership to further enrich their comprehensive strategic partnership.

Keywords：People-to-People Exchanges; China-Saudi Relations; China-Saudi Cooperation; Comprehensive Strategic Partnership