China’s Economic Diplomacy in Saudi Arabia and Qatar: An Effect on the Country’s Economic Growth

This article demonstrates how theoretical and empirical integration to conducting a research study incorporating both theory and empirical works into an integrated interpretative analysis of China’s economic diplomacy towards Saudi Arabia and Qatar. While numerous books and articles have discussed the question of China’s relations with the Middle East more broadly, dominant scholarship focusing on China’s economic diplomacy approach in the Middle East misses theoretical and empirical integration-informed perspectives. By examining recent publications on China’s increasing role in the Middle East and showing how this theoretical and empirical integration can add significantly to their interpretations, the article highlights how the theoretical and empirical works of researchers and their subjects are a pressing concern in studies of China’s relations with Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Overall, the article provides specific suggestions for integrating empirical work within theoretical work in the field, and it demonstrates how this integration is significant in assessing the tangible effects of China’s economic diplomacy towards Saudi Arabia and Qatar on the country’s economic growth.