Given that China is already Saudi Arabia’s main trading partner for commercial goods, it makes sense that the cargo airline places its focus on highlighting its shipping expertise to the country. The value of Saudi exports in 2023 totaled around 3.8 billion EUR (16.1 billion SAR), and a 17% share meant that almost 1 in 5 shipments was headed for China – a trend that is growing and with Saudia Cargo’s ‘Landing in China in 24’ campaign, is intended to be accelerated. “This initiative underscores Saudia Cargo’s commitment to empowering Saudi exports and ensuring they gain a strong foothold in the competitive Chinese market, opening doors to substantial growth and expansion opportunities,” the release explains. It is in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which focuses on diversifying the Kingdom’s exports and revenue streams. It builds on the Kingdom’s ‘Made in Saudi’ initiative, launched by the Saudi Export Development Authority to promote the country’s quality products, and aims “to deepen trade ties between Saudi Arabia and China by positioning Saudi products prominently in one of the world’s most vital markets, thereby driving economic growth.” Currently, the cargo airline operates 18 weekly cargo flights to Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. It also offers belly capacity on Saudia’s ten weekly passenger flights to Guangzhou and Beijing.
Marwan Niazi, Vice President of Commercial at Saudia Cargo, stated: “Through this campaign, we aim to enhance our shipping capabilities and broaden our export scope to the Chinese markets by optimizing export operations and providing advanced logistic services that align with the growing global market demands and commercial connections. We have focused on facilitating the access of Saudi products to the Chinese markets and showcasing our logistical capabilities and operational efficiency. The campaign has generated substantial engagement across social media platforms from partners and related sectors, including the National Competitiveness Center, the National Livestock and Fisheries Development Program, the Saudi Export Development Authority, and the General Authority of Foreign Trade. This demonstrates the widespread interest and support for the campaign.”
