Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L) during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina. AP.
Riyadh: Saudi Arabia and China are expected to sign deals worth more than USD 29.3 billion during the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s three-day visit to the West Asian nation, state media agency SPA said.
Xi is visiting Saudi Arabia at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
In a report on Tuesday, SPA said King Salman had invited Xi “in order to strengthen the historical relations and distinguished strategic partnership that unites the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with the People’s Republic of China.”
As per a report by news agency Xinhua, Xi and Saudi King are scheduled to hold a Saudi-Chinese summit that will also be attended by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The meeting will focus on developing a strategic partnership between the two countries amid escalating tensions with the United States.
Agenda of Xi’s visit to Saudi Arabia
The agenda of Xi’s visit to the West Asian country include the Arab Gulf-Chinese summit for cooperation and development and the Arab-China meeting with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The National News reported that the meetings will be somewhat similar to those held in July this year during US President Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia. During the visit, Biden met regional allies and reassured partners of America’s commitment to the Middle East.
The US and Saudi Arabia are still engaged in a heated spat over oil production, which in October culminated in strong rhetoric and traded accusations when the Saudi-led oil cartel OPEC+ slashed output by two million barrels per day in an effort to “stabilise” prices.
As per reports, the decision was taken despite heavy US campaigning against it.
Not only with Saudi Arabia, US relations with China have also been soured.
For the unversed, China and Saudi Arabia have also taken different stances from the West regarding the Russia-Ukraine war with both the nations refraining from endorsing sanctions on Russia.
Saudi Arabia has also persistently been maintaining that Russia is a key energy-producing partner that must be consulted on OPEC+ decisions, a report by CNN said.
After the massive oil cut in November, some US officials accused Saudi Arabia of siding with Russia and aiding President Vladimir Putin with his war on Ukraine.
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