Visit to Saudi Arabia: Xi seeks to drive the US out of the region

the Chinese president, Xi Jinpingattended two summits with Arab countries and the Persian Gulf this Friday during his first visit to Saudi Arabia since 2016, in which he seeks to consolidate China as the Middle East’s main trade ally and overthrow the United States.

The Chinese leader had already met with the king and crown prince of Saudi Arabia on Thursday, cementing ties with a region essential for nutrition of his country as sanctions against Russia intensify over its war against Ukraine.

Xi’s visit follows that of Joe Biden, who landed in Riyadh in mid-July with an eye on Saudi oil despite the insults that the Democrat dispensed during the electoral campaign against the Saudi regime.

As a candidate, Biden has promised to keep the status of “outcast” in the kingdom after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and after being elected, he declassified a report that pointed to Prince Mohamed bin Salmán in plot to end the journalist’s life, which Riyadh has always denied. But the war in Ukraine changed everything.

Xi arrived at Al Yamama Palace in Riyadh and was greeted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the assertive son of King Salman who is set to rule the oil-rich kingdom for decades to come. Xi shook hands with the prince as a mounted honor guard carried Saudi and Chinese flags.

During their bilateral meeting, they signed a “comprehensive strategic partnership agreement”, which elevates relations between the two states to a new level of cooperation in all areas, and agreed to hold high-level meetings every two years.

At the same time, they have signed more than thirty agreements and memorandums of understanding in different sectors, which also include the establishment of Chinese projects and facilities in Saudi Arabia.

After the meeting, Xi wrote in a column published by Al Riyadh newspaper that “Trade between China and Arab states dates back more than 2,000 years”. The column also quoted a saying of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad: “Seek knowledge even if you have to go as far as China.”

“The Arab people value independence, resist external interference, face power politics and arbitrariness, and always seek progress,” Xi’s column said.

He also noted that Gulf Cooperation Council countries, which include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, serve as “an energy reservoir for the world economy. China, the world’s largest importer of crude oilit is heavily dependent on Saudi oil and pays the kingdom tens of billions of dollars a year.

Xi’s stay in Saudi Arabia lasted until this Friday, when two more summits were held: one between China and the Arab countries, and another with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), made up of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab United States, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman.

EFE and AP

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