Three Chinese summits will soon be held in Saudi Arabia, the first with the host country, the second in the Gulf and the third at the Arab level, as announced by the Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, demonstrating the growing relations between the two countries in conjunction with Riyadh’s tense relations with the United States.
These summits are expected to precede Chinese President Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to the kingdom, the first since the one he made to Saudi Arabia in 2016.
Despite the reassurances of the Saudi minister, the Chinese embassy in Saudi Arabia did not comment on the AFP request on the visit, while the Chinese foreign ministry said it had “no information to provide” on the matter.
In 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Riyadh, then Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz returned the visit in 2017, accompanied by a delegation of 1,000 people. In 2019, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held talks with Xi in Beijing, during which they concluded an oil deal worth $ 10 billion.
And Saudi political analyst Mubarak Al-Ati states that “the Saudi-Chinese summit has been planned since the king’s visit to China and was confirmed after the crown prince’s visit to China”.
In an interview with Al-Hurra, Al-Ati reveals the expected times for Xi’s visit and the expected summits that will follow, noting: “As for the visit of the Chinese president, it will be at the end of this year, but the timing are has not yet been definitively determined. “
Al-Ati goes on to say that “the Gulf-China summit has also been agreed and a free trade agreement will be signed between the Gulf States and China … As for the Arab-Chinese summit, it is still under discussion and coordination. , and it could be announced shortly. “
Al-Ati notes that energy and economic exchange issues will be at the center of the agenda of Xi’s visit to Saudi Arabia and the search for greater cooperation between the two countries in these areas, given that China is the leading oil importer Saudi.
And if the visit is linked to the recent tension in Saudi-American relations, the Saudi analyst says that the visit “was not the result of the moment or the result of other international calculations, and its date has long been set. “
A quarrel has erupted between Washington and Riyadh since OPEC + decided this month to cut production, although the administration of US President Joe Biden tried to postpone this decision by a month after the midterm elections in United States.
Relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia have been strained since Biden came to power, who during his election campaign pledged to make Saudi Arabia a pariah state for the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, and accused her of killing the children of Yemen.
With US-Saudi relations at a low level, Prince Mohammed bin Salman has resorted to strengthening relations with Russia and China, although the kingdom still enjoys close security relations with Washington.
China relies on the volatile Middle East for its oil needs and is the second largest economy in the world after the United States.
But Al-Ati states that “Saudi Arabia believes that establishing distinct relations with international powers will never come at the expense of its relations with the United States, which are very important and strategic relations that span eight decades” .
He added that “Saudi Arabia wishes to maintain these relations regardless of the ruling party in the White House,” noting that the Saudis “realize that it is important to maintain and sustain developed relations with a great power like the United States and to address any apathy. or disagreement that might arise “.
Al-Ati says that “the differences have existed recently and the differences are increasing, but this does not mean that Saudi Arabia will exaggerate its relations with Washington”.
Al-Ati rejects the idea that the Saudi-Chinese rapprochement has come to antagonize the United States or any other country.
In turn, Hussein Abdul-Hussein, a researcher at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, agrees with this proposal and believes that “the announced summits do not fall into the door of US harassment”.
Abdul-Hussein told Al-Hurra that “there are signs that the crisis is not as serious as it first appeared, especially after the United States praised Saudi steps regarding Ukraine, voted against Russia at the United Nations. and provided aid to Ukraine. “
Abdul Hussein stresses that “the crisis will not get worse and the Saudi-Chinese summit will not be part of the escalation”, noting that “the crisis is coming to a solution, even behind closed doors and by undeclared diplomatic means.”
Hussein disagrees with the view that Saudi Arabia is seeking to replace the United States with China and says that “so far, with the exception of Saudi energy sales to China, the volume of Chinese investment in Saudi Arabia is almost non-existent despite the talks of military and economic cooperation between the two countries “.
“Saudi Arabia is still completely and completely dependent on American technology, be it in the areas of defense, infrastructure, water desalination technology and other important issues,” Abdul-Hussein says.
