Virtual Event | Countering China’s Digital Silk Road: Saudi Arabia

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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is undergoing a historic, technology-driven transformation under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030. As the kingdom transitions from its longtime petro-economy, it imagines nothing less than becoming a regional hub for artificial intelligence (AI), data centers, and emerging technologies. But realizing Vision 2030’s bold ambitions will require foreign partnerships, and the United States and China now compete fiercely to shape the kingdom’s technological trajectory.

The United States took a major step in May 2025, when the Trump administration announced a landmark deal that could pave the way for Saudi Arabia to access thousands of advanced AI chips and other U.S. technologies. The deal has ignited fierce debate in Washington over how to balance promoting and protecting America’s technology stack abroad, especially given the kingdom’s expanding ties to Beijing and authoritarian governments. Understanding the kingdom’s geopolitical and technological ambitions, changing policy landscape, and complex ties to Chinese firms is essential as U.S. policymakers assess the merits of deeper bilateral technology cooperation.

The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) held a live, virtual event on Thursday, September 18 from 9:30–10:30 a.m. ET on “Countering the Digital Silk Road: Saudi Arabia.” This event followed the release of a new CNAS report on the Digital Silk Road in Saudi Arabia, the fourth installment in an ongoing CNAS Technology and National Security Program research project assessing the economic and security implications of China’s Digital Silk Road and U.S. efforts to provide a compelling alternative.

Live viewers had the opportunity to ask questions during the event.

Featuring:

Mohammed Soliman
Director, Strategic Technologies and Cyber Security Program
Middle East Institute

Karen House
Pulitzer Prize–winning Journalist;
Former Managing Editor, The Wall Street Journal

Mohammed Al-Sudairi
Lecturer in Politics and International Relations
Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies

Moderated by:

Vivek Chilukuri
Senior Fellow and Program Director, Technology and National Security Program
Center for a New American Security

For registration questions, contact Jasmine Butler at [email protected]. For media inquiries, contact Charles Horn at [email protected].