Saudi Arabia moves closer to China without ignoring US – News

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia cemented the rapprochement between the two countries and for Riyadh, a balancing exercise between its traditional allies China and the United States.

Xi Jinping has advocated closer and safer ties with Arab monarchies in the Gulf during several summits in Saudi Arabia, a hydrocarbon-rich region with strong ties to the United States.

He also signed around 40 deals with Saudi leaders in fields ranging from hydrogen to housing.

However, the apparent lack of progress on critical issues such as defense and telecommunications should calm the spirits of the United States, which has not failed to warn against “certain associations” that could scratch relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia.

For decades, Saudi Arabia and the United States have been linked in an “oil for security” association. Riyadh guarantees oil supplies, while Washington pledges its military support through massive arms sales.

However, these historic ties were marred by human rights abuses and the oil crisis.

The Americans, angered by the recent drop in OPEC+ oil production, have announced that they are reassessing their relationship with Saudi Arabia.

OPEC+ includes 13 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) led by Saudi Arabia, in addition to other allies such as Russia.

– China’s “growing influence” –

On Wednesday, during Xi Jinping’s visit to Riyadh, the White House said it was “aware of China’s growing influence” in the Middle East, which Washington said was not conducive to preserving the “international order”.

But he said Washington was not asking “any country to choose between the United States and China.”

Riyadh said he had no intention of doing so. “We will continue to work with all our partners. We do not believe in polarization,” Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic chief Faisal bin Farhan said on Friday.

“Competition is good”, he added, pledging that his country would pursue a strong relationship with the US “in all areas”.

The connection with China is more recent.

Saudi Arabia was the last Arab country to establish diplomatic relations with the Asian country in the early 1990s, and bilateral relations have flourished only in the past 20 years, with a greater focus on exchanges in the energy sector.

China is the world’s largest importer of crude oil, and Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest exporter.

Saudi oil will account for 17% of Chinese imports by 2021.

Nasser Al Tamimi, an expert on Gulf-China relations at the Italian Institute for International Policy Studies, says Riyadh has engaged “very prudently” in areas of great concern to Washington, particularly defense, telecommunications and nuclear energy.

During the China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit on Friday, Xi Jinping wanted to explore “new areas of action such as aeronautics, space, digital economy and the peaceful use of nuclear energy” with Arab countries.

The Asian giant wants to relaunch and expand its sphere of influence, particularly through its initiative New Silk Roads, a vast international investment project.

Gulf countries aim to diversify their strategic relationships and reduce their economies’ dependence on hydrocarbons.

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© Agence France-Presse