Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received President Xi Jinping on Thursday as the Chinese leader heralded \u201ca new era\u201d in Arab relations, with a lavish welcome signalling Riyadh\u2019s interest in deepening ties with Beijing despite the United State\u2019s wariness.
\nMembers of the Saudi Royal Guard riding Arabian horses and carrying Chinese and Saudi flags escorted Xi\u2019s car as it entered the royal palace in Riyadh, where Prince Mohammed \u2014 de facto ruler of the oil giant \u2014 greeted him with a warm smile.
\nIt stood in stark contrast to the low-key welcome extended in July to US President Joe Biden, with whom ties have been strained by Saudi energy policy and the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi that had overshadowed the awkward visit.
\nThe US, warily watching China\u2019s growing sway and with its ties to Riyadh at a nadir, said on Wednesday the visit was an example of Chinese attempts to exert influence around the world and would not change US policy towards the Middle East.
\nPrince Mohammed \u2014 with whom Biden bumped fists instead of shaking hands in July \u2014 has made a comeback on the world stage following the Khashoggi killing, which cast a pall over Saudi-US ties, and has been defiant in the face of US ire over oil supplies and pressure from Washington to help isolate Russia.
\nSetting the tone for Xi\u2019s visit, his plane was escorted by Saudi air force jets as it entered Saudi airspace and a 21-gun salute was fired as senior Saudi royals met him at the airport on Wednesday, the Chinese foreign ministry said.
\nIn an op-ed published in Saudi media, Xi said he was on a \u201cpioneering trip\u201d to \u201copen a new era of China\u2019s relations with the Arab world, the Arab countries of the Gulf and Saudi Arabia\u201d.
\nChina and Arab countries would \u201ccontinue to hold high the banner of non-interference in internal affairs, firmly support each other in safeguarding sovereignty and territorial integrity\u201d, he wrote.
\nXi \u2014 due to meet with other Gulf oil producers and attend a wider gathering of Arab leaders on Friday \u2014 said these states were a \u201ctreasure trove of energy for the world economy [\u2026] and are fertile ground for the development of high-tech industries\u201d.
\nSaudi Arabia and other Gulf states like the United Arab Emirates have said that they would not choose sides between global powers and were diversifying partners to serve national economic and security interests.
\n\u2018Trusted partner\u2019
\nChina, the world\u2019s biggest energy consumer, is a major trade partner of Gulf states and bilateral ties have expanded as the region pushes economic diversification, raising US hackles about Chinese involvement in sensitive Gulf infrastructure.
\nThe Saudi energy minister on Wednesday said Riyadh would remain a \u201ctrusted and reliable\u201d energy partner for Beijing and that the two would boost cooperation in energy supply chains by establishing a regional centre in the kingdom for Chinese factories.
\nChinese and Saudi firms also signed 34 deals for investment in green energy, information technology, cloud services, transport, construction and other sectors, state news agency SPA reported.
\nIt gave no figures but had earlier said the two countries would seal initial agreements worth $30 billion.
\nTang Tianbo, Middle East specialist at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations \u2014 a Chinese government-affiliated think tank \u2014 said the visit would result in further expansion of energy cooperation.
\nThe \u201cBelt and Road\u201d initiative \u2014 Xi\u2019s signature infrastructure investment project \u2014 dovetailed with Saudi plans to diversify its economy under its \u201cVision 2030\u201d, Tianbo wrote in an article on Saudi-Chinese relations.
\nWhile Saudi Arabia was an important US ally, she noted, \u201cIn recent years, it has upheld its strategic autonomy, resisted the pressure of the United States\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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