As China’s President landed in Riyadh this past week amidst much fanfare, Saudi Arabia announced a bumper budget surplus owing to high oil prices, putting the kingdom forward as the fastest-growing G20 economy, and giving a boost to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (MBS) grand plans to re-design the region’s economy for the future. To achieve this, Saudi Arabia is not only going through an economic renaissance but also a geopolitical one as well. Riyadh’s traditional geopolitical posture has predominantly had a western compass, with close ties between the House of Saud and Washington over decades. Both the internal and…