Flanked by a thousand-person entourage, Saudi Arabian King Salman travelled to China on Thursday to deepen economic ties between the world's biggest oil exporter and the world's second-largest oil consumer. It's a key stop in the king's six-week trip to Asia that comes as Riyadh struggles with a slumping oil market and a desperate need to diversify its economy.

During his meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, King Salman oversaw the signing of up to $US65 billion ($85 billion) worth of economic and trade deals, spanning sectors from energy to space, though the Chinese government disclosed few specifics. Saudi Arabia and China also deepened their energy relationship with more than 20 agreements on oil investments and in renewable energy. China even discussed taking a stake in Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil firm, which is preparing for a public listing, Bloomberg reported.

Saudi Arabia limped into 2017 facing grim economic forecasts fuelled by a global oil glut. In January, the IMF revised downward its projection for Saudi economic growth from 2 per cent to 0.4 per cent this year. King Salman, and especially crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, have launched an ambitious campaign to shock the country out of oil-dependency and diversify the economy under the auspices of its Saudi Vision 2030 plan. It's culminated in the unusual six-week trip to Asia that includes stops in Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and the Maldives as Salman courts foreign investors.

The two leaders also dropped hints that China could boost its diplomatic footprint in the Middle East. "Saudi Arabia is willing to work hard with China to promote global and regional peace, security and prosperity," Salman said. He added he hoped China would increase its role in Middle East affairs.