East Asian countries are influential nations, more for their economic strength than political standings. Their economic clout can be seen from the fact that US President Trump has made it a priority to counter these industrial countries, particularly China, whose capabilities are said to have even affected the US economy. Saudi Arabia recognizes the importance of enhancing relations with these countries, especially China, Japan and South Korea. Trade with some of them has been booming. The Asian tigers, largely reliant on industry, have seen high growth rates during the last 15 years. They depend on oil as raw material to further increase their growth rates. They also enjoy high levels of security and political stability, particularly China where there are diverse industries owned by more 30 million private enterprises. The Saudi Cabinet, presided over by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, has passed more than 10 resolutions related to enhancing economic relations between the Kingdom and these countries. This is expected to reflect positively on bilateral relations, focused on trade, labor, industry and energy. Japan is also a significant supporter of Saudi Vision 2030. The Saudi ministers of economics, commerce and energy have been authorized to conduct negotiations with their Japanese counterparts on a memorandum related to Saudi-Japanese cooperation in implementing the Saudi Vision. In this regard, Japan has already launched the Softbank Fund in cooperation with the Saudi sovereign wealth fund and other partners with a capital of $100 billion. The scheduled visit by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to several Asian countries comes as part of the Kingdom's efforts to enhance relations with these economic giants and enter into joint investment agreements – a marked change from a Western-focused approach as in the past.
