RIYADH (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to meet the king and powerful crown prince of Saudi Arabia on Thursday in a visit that has demonstrated a muscular openness to the Arab world and earned a rebuke from Washington.
Around $30 billion in deals will be signed on Thursday, Saudi state media reported, as China seeks to shore up its Covid-hit economy and the Saudis, longtime US allies, push to diversify their economic and political alliances.
Arab rulers also began converging on the Saudi capital on Thursday ahead of a summit with Xi, the leader of the world’s second-largest economy, who will hold separate talks with the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council before leaving on Friday.
China, the largest consumer of Saudi oilhas strengthened its commercial and political ties with a region that has long relied on the United States for military protection, but has expressed concerns about a downgraded American presence.
Hours after Xi arrived on Wednesday, with formation jets flying overhead, Saudi state media announced 34 investment deals in sectors including green hydrogen, energy technologies, and more. information, transport and construction.
The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) did not provide details, but said bilateral trade stood at 304 billion Saudi riyals ($80 billion) in 2021 and 103 billion Saudi riyals ( $27 billion) in the third quarter of 2022.
State broadcaster Al Ekhbariya said another 20 deals worth 110 billion riyals ($29.3 billion) were to be signed on Thursday.
Saudi and Chinese officials offered little information on Xi’s schedule, but Riyadh-based diplomats said Thursday should be spent on meetings, including with King Salman, the 86-year-old monarch, and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the 37-year-old de facto ruler.
Prince Mohammed sees China as a key partner in his sweeping Vision 2030 reform agenda, seeking to involve Chinese companies in ambitious megaprojects aimed at diversifying the economy away from fossil fuels.
Key Saudi projects include the futuristic $500 billion megacity NEOM, a so-called cognitive city that will rely heavily on facial recognition and surveillance technology.
Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih said this week’s visit “will help accelerate the pace of economic and investment cooperation between the two countries”, providing Chinese companies and investors “with gratifying returns,” according to the SPA.
Xi may also hold bilateral talks on Thursday with other Arab leaders who arrived in Saudi Arabia ahead of Friday’s summits, Riyadh-based diplomats said.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Tunisian President Kais Saied were in the flight Thursday. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch and Lebanese interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati have also confirmed their attendance.
China’s Foreign Ministry this week described Xi’s trip as “the most important diplomatic activity between China and the Arab world” since the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
It was not lost on the White House, which warned of “the influence that China is trying to grow in the world”, calling its goals “not conducive to the preservation of the international order based on rules”.
Washington has long been a close partner of Riyadh, but the relationship is currently marred by disagreements over energy policy, US security guarantees and human rights.
Xi is on just his third overseas trip since the covid pandemic prompted China to close its borders and embark on a series of shutdowns, curbing its giant economy.
Around $30 billion in deals will be signed on Thursday, Saudi state media reported, as China seeks to shore up its Covid-hit economy and the Saudis, longtime US allies, push to diversify their economic and political alliances.
Arab rulers also began converging on the Saudi capital on Thursday ahead of a summit with Xi, the leader of the world’s second-largest economy, who will hold separate talks with the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council before leaving on Friday.
China, the largest consumer of Saudi oilhas strengthened its commercial and political ties with a region that has long relied on the United States for military protection, but has expressed concerns about a downgraded American presence.
Hours after Xi arrived on Wednesday, with formation jets flying overhead, Saudi state media announced 34 investment deals in sectors including green hydrogen, energy technologies, and more. information, transport and construction.
The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) did not provide details, but said bilateral trade stood at 304 billion Saudi riyals ($80 billion) in 2021 and 103 billion Saudi riyals ( $27 billion) in the third quarter of 2022.
State broadcaster Al Ekhbariya said another 20 deals worth 110 billion riyals ($29.3 billion) were to be signed on Thursday.
Saudi and Chinese officials offered little information on Xi’s schedule, but Riyadh-based diplomats said Thursday should be spent on meetings, including with King Salman, the 86-year-old monarch, and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the 37-year-old de facto ruler.
Prince Mohammed sees China as a key partner in his sweeping Vision 2030 reform agenda, seeking to involve Chinese companies in ambitious megaprojects aimed at diversifying the economy away from fossil fuels.
Key Saudi projects include the futuristic $500 billion megacity NEOM, a so-called cognitive city that will rely heavily on facial recognition and surveillance technology.
Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih said this week’s visit “will help accelerate the pace of economic and investment cooperation between the two countries”, providing Chinese companies and investors “with gratifying returns,” according to the SPA.
Xi may also hold bilateral talks on Thursday with other Arab leaders who arrived in Saudi Arabia ahead of Friday’s summits, Riyadh-based diplomats said.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Tunisian President Kais Saied were in the flight Thursday. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch and Lebanese interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati have also confirmed their attendance.
China’s Foreign Ministry this week described Xi’s trip as “the most important diplomatic activity between China and the Arab world” since the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
It was not lost on the White House, which warned of “the influence that China is trying to grow in the world”, calling its goals “not conducive to the preservation of the international order based on rules”.
Washington has long been a close partner of Riyadh, but the relationship is currently marred by disagreements over energy policy, US security guarantees and human rights.
Xi is on just his third overseas trip since the covid pandemic prompted China to close its borders and embark on a series of shutdowns, curbing its giant economy.
