In the twenty-first century, Saudi Arabia faces multiple challenges in fulfilling its claimed role as the leader of the West Asian region. The rise of China as an emerging power in economic and political spheres has driven Saudi Arabia to balance its relations with major powers and diversify its partnerships to enhance its bargaining power. This has led Riyadh to expand its relations with Beijing while maintaining its strategic cooperation with Washington. Accordingly, the main question of this study is: what are the reasons behind Saudi Arabia’s inclination to strengthen its economic relations with China between 2017 and 2023? The research hypothesis revolves around limited dissatisfaction with the performance of the United States during the Biden administration—especially after the Aramco attack and the perceived decline in U.S. security commitments—alongside Saudi efforts to balance its foreign policy, use expanded economic ties with China to enhance bargaining power vis-à-vis Washington, secure regional interests while maintaining strategic cooperation with the United States, and benefit from China’s advanced industries, joint investments, and technological capabilities. This study adopts a descriptive-analytical approach and employs the “process tracing” method. The findings indicate that the perceived decline in U.S. prioritization of West Asia and the rise of emerging powers, particularly China, have motivated Riyadh to pursue foreign policy balance through expanding economic relations and strengthening cooperation in diplomatic, security, and cultural domains. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia leverages its relations with China as a tool to enhance its bargaining capacity with the United States and secure regional interests.