Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah died on Friday and was replaced by his half-brother Salman as the new ruler of the world's top oil exporter and the spiritual home of Islam.

"With great sorrow and grief His Highness Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and all members of the family and the nation mourn the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, who passed away at exactly 1 am this morning (2200 GMT Thursday)," the Saudi royal court statement said.

Abdullah, believed to be around 90, has been hospitalized in December for pneumonia and was put on assisted breathing.

Global leaders paid tribute to the late monarch, who led his kingdom through a turbulent decade in a region shaken by the Arab Spring uprisings and Islamic extremism.

Despite the fact that Saudi Arabia is one of the most influential countries in the Middle East, the death of Abdullah will not affect the situation in Saudi Arabia, the Middle East, or the oil prices in the long run and Saudi's diplomatic relationships with other countries, analysts said.

"The late king has been sick for a while and the news is not surprising for the Saudi government, which has been prepared for the power transfer, and the 79-year-old new king is experienced," Li Weijian, director of Institute for Foreign Policy Studies at Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told the Global Times.

In his first public statement as the new ruler, Salman vowed to maintain a steady course for the conservative kingdom. "We will remain with God's strength attached to the straight path that this state has walked since its establishment," Salman said in televised remarks.

He called for "unity and solidarity" among Muslims and asked for God to support him in his "great responsibility."

Li said that Salman is going to continue the policies of "steady reform" that the late king laid down.

Salman on Friday appointed his son Mohammed bin Salman as defense minister and head of the royal court, keeping other ministers, including in the foreign, oil and finance portfolios, in their positions, television reported citing a royal decree.

Saudi Arabia is the world's top oil exporter and its domestic situation and policies will affect oil pricing.

Oil prices rose on Friday following the king's death news, with the US crude oil price up nearly 2 percent to $47.21 a barrel and Brent crude oil rose 2 percent to $49.55.

"As we are uncertain of how the new king would react to the current supply glut, we believe that the market is pricing in this uncertainty causing prices to spike," said Daniel Ang, an investment analyst with broker Phillip Futures.

Saudi Arabia is the largest crude oil exporter to China, which bought an average of 1.17 million barrels of crude oil from Saudi every day in 2013 and 2014.

"Salman will continue to view China as an important trade partner and oil buyer," Li said.

Saudi Arabia's relationship with China will continue to develop smoothly, Yin Gang, an expert in Middle East studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times, adding Salman showed his cooperative attitude toward China in his visit to Beijing in March 2014 as the then Crown Prince.

Salman met Chinese President Xi Jinping in March and both expressed the willingness to strengthen strategic partnership, accelerating the FTA talks between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council and enhance cooperation in defense, security and anti-terrorism.

Xi has spoken on the phone with the new king on Friday to extend condolences over the death of king Abdullah.

Xi's special representative, State Councilor Yang Jiechi, will travel to Saudi Arabia Saturday for an "official commemoration" for the late king.

Abdulla has attached importance to push forward relations with China and made great contributions in deepening bilateral friendship and cooperation, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Friday.

Abdullah, who visited China in 2006, is the first Saudi king to visit China.

Shiite-dominated Iran expressed condolences on Friday over the death. Relations between Tehran and Riyadh have been tense since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution overthrew their own monarch brought to power Shiite clerics opposed to the conservative Sunni Muslim kingdom.

Yin said that China, as one member of the six-party talks, has been pushing the denuclearization in Iran .

Salman also said during his trip to Beijing that he expected China to play a constructive role in achieving a nuclear-free Gulf.

Agencies contributed to this story