The Saudi Approach is quite different from the Chinese approach and it is the money that plays an important role for making the Saudi League more valuable than the Chinese. The Saudi leagues clubs like Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr have renown players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar and others who have a high commercial value.
I know that Chinese leagues have been hiring the aging stars like Carlos Tevez or Oscar and that would not do much good to them as they may bring some hype but the on-field impact by those players is none.
Yes, Saudi clubs also run their business by bringing in big-name players from Europe. They not only pay a lot, but they also have other deals for the privileges that players get. The Saudi league is more advanced and gets enough media attention compared to the Chinese league. The arrival of European players must have an impact on the competition in the domestic league. The goal is of course, to increase the value of better competition, as well as the improvement of local players who will certainly be forced to improve their level of play.