China–Saudi Arabia relations (, ) refers to the current and historical bilateral relationship between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The first China-Saudi official meeting took place in Oman in November 1985, following several years of heightened contact between the two countries. The two governments established official diplomatic relations on 21 July 1990. Prior to the 1990s, bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and the PRC did not exist. In 1975, Saudi Arabia refused to recognize the PRC as a country, despite the PRC's desire to establish relations and acceptance of Saudi Arabian policies. It is said that "oil is the backbone of the relationship", while Saudi Arabia has long relied on China for arms sales, including weapons the former could not acquire from anywhere. China and Saudi Arabia are close and strategic allies, with the relationship getting significantly warmer between the two. In a 2015 public opinion poll, 61.3% of Saudi Arabians expressed a favorable view of China, with 34.2% being very favorable, while only 28.5% were unfavorable. China and Saudi Arabia have been increasing cooperation in the energy and financial sectors, One Belt One Road Initiative, and has signed numerous deals across several areas. King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman also hinted that China could boost its diplomatic footprint in the Middle East, while stating that "Saudi Arabia is willing to work hard with China to promote global and regional peace, security and prosperity". Establishing relations Zheng He's Treasure voyages sent some men to Mecca and Medina. As of 1989, Saudi Arabia was the only Arab country that still had not established diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China (although Saudi Arabia did maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan). After the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 occurred in Beijing in June of that year, Saudi relations with the PRC were upgraded. Despite the event, Saudi Arabia did not provide any criticism of the event. In fact, in August 1989, the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry official presented his credentials to the PRC's foreign minister. Less than a year later on 21 July 1990, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, paid a visit to Beijing with an agreement to establish diplomatic relations. A few days later, diplomatic relations were established in Riyadh. At this point, Saudi Arabia ended over forty years of diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Taiwan–Saudi Arabia