Chinese President Xi Jinping is on his maiden visit to Saudi Arabia with the Middle East kingdom wooing its largest trading partner China amid a rare downturn in its ties with traditional ally United States (US).
Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to meet Saudi Arabia’s king and powerful crown prince on Thursday in a visit that has demonstrated China’s muscular outreach to the Arab world and earned a rebuke from the United States (US).
About $30 billion in agreements will be signed on Thursday, Saudi state media said, as China seeks to shore up its Covid-hit economy and as the Saudis, long-term US allies, push to diversify their economic and political alliances.
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Arab leaders also began to converge on the Saudi capital on Thursday ahead of a summit with Xi, the leader of the world’s second-biggest economy, who will hold separate talks with the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council before leaving on Friday.
China, the top consumer of Saudi oil, has been strengthening its trade and political ties with a region that has long relied on the United States for military protection but which has voiced concerns over a downgraded American presence.
Hours after Xi’s arrival on Wednesday, with formation jets flying overhead, Saudi state media announced 34 investment agreements in sectors including green hydrogen, information technology, transport and construction.
The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) did not provide details, but said two-way trade totalled 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 agreements worth 110 billion riyals ($29.3 billion) were due to be signed on Thursday.
Saudi and Chinese officials have provided little information about Xi’s schedule, but Riyadh-based diplomats said Thursday was expected to be devoted to 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.
