RIYADH — Chinese President Xi Jinping touched down in
Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for a visit that is likely to focus on energy ties
but also follows months of tensions with the US.
اضافة اعلان
Xi, recently reanointed as leader of the world’s second
biggest economy, arrived in the capital Riyadh, Chinese and Saudi state media
said, for a three-day visit that will include talks with the Saudi rulers and
other Arab leaders.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Riyadh
Governor Prince Faisal bin Bandar were among those who welcomed Xi at the
airport, where a ceremonial purple carpet was laid out from the steps of the
plane.
On major roads in Riyadh, the red-and-gold Chinese flag
alternated with the green Saudi emblem.
China is the top customer for oil from Saudi Arabia, the
leading exporter of crude, and both sides appear keen to expand their
relationship at a time of economic turmoil and geopolitical realignment.
The trip — only Xi’s third overseas journey since the
COVID-19 pandemic began, and his first
to Saudi Arabia since 2016 — comes after US President Joe Biden’s visit in
July, when he pleaded in vain for higher oil production.
It will feature bilateral meetings with Saudi King Salman
and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as a summit with the six-member
GCC and a wider China-Arab summit.
Oil markets
The program represents the “largest-scale diplomatic
activity between China and the Arab world since the founding of the PRC”, or
People’s Republic of China, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Wednesday.
The official Saudi Press Agency said the kingdom accounted
for more than 20 percent of Chinese investment in the Arab world between 2005
and 2020, “making it the biggest Arab country to receive Chinese investments
during that period”.
Oil markets are expected to be a top agenda item for talks
between China and Saudi Arabia, especially given the turbulence the markets
have experienced since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
The G7 and EU on Friday agreed to a $60-per-barrel price cap
on Russian oil to deny the Kremlin war resources, injecting further uncertainty
into the markets.
On Sunday, the OPEC+ oil cartel led jointly by Saudi Arabia
and Russia opted to keep in place production cuts of 2 million barrels per day
approved in October.
Saudi and Chinese officials have provided scant information
about the agenda, though Ali Shihabi, a Saudi analyst close to the government,
said he expected “a number of agreements to be signed”.
Beyond energy, analysts say leaders from the two countries
will likely discuss potential deals that could see Chinese firms become more
deeply involved in mega-projects that are central to Prince Mohammed’s vision
of diversifying the Saudi economy away from oil.
They include a futuristic $500 billion megacity known as
NEOM, a so-called cognitive city that will depend heavily on facial recognition
and surveillance technology.
Tensions with Washington
The OPEC+ production cuts approved in October represented
the latest blow to the longtime partnership between Saudi Arabia and the US,
which said they amounted to “aligning with Russia” on the war in Ukraine.
Xi’s visit is expected to be closely watched in Washington,
which entered what is often described as an oil-for-security partnership with
Saudi Arabia towards the end of World War II.
While the Biden administration has smarted over the
production cuts, Riyadh has at times accused the US of failing to hold up the
security end of the bargain, notably after strikes in September 2019 claimed by
Yemen’s Houthi rebels temporarily halved the kingdom’s crude output.
China and Saudi Arabia already work together on arms sales
and production.
Yet analysts say Beijing cannot provide the same security
assurances Washington does — nor does it wish to.
Nevertheless, if the Saudis are “looking to extract more
security guarantees from the US, ... signaling that they have the opportunity
of strengthening ties with China is something that suits them well,” said
Torbjorn Soltvedt, of the risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft.
The GCC-China summit will be held in Riyadh on Friday, the
bloc said in a statement.
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