On Thursday, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greeted Chinese President Xi Jinping with a lavish reception in the country’s capital, Riyadh. The two countries are headed for a number of summits heralding an “epochal milestone” in China’s relations with the Arab world. Saudi Arabia and China are both headed for the summits.
The Saudi monarchy’s de facto leader, Mohammed bin Salman, also known as MBS, welcomed the Chinese head of state to the Al-Yamamah Palace with a lavish ceremony that was shown live on Saudi state television. The grounds were decorated with Chinese and Saudi Arabian flags, and members of the Saudi Royal Guard stood in a line while playing music and brandishing swords.
In sharp contrast to the tense environment that prevailed during Vice President Joe Biden’s trip to Saudi Arabia earlier this year, the two heads of state exchanged friendly smiles and looked on while photographs were taken.
The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported shortly afterward that China and Saudi Arabia had signed a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement. This agreement includes a number of deals and memorandums of understanding, including on hydrogen energy, coordination between the kingdom’s Vision 2030 and China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and direct investment. However, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) did not provide details about the nature of these agreements.
On Wednesday, Xi arrived in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh, where he was greeted by Saudi Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Riyadh Region, and Saudi Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Foreign Affairs. The aircraft carrying the Chinese president arrived in Saudi Arabia, followed by military jets from that country. When the president arrived, a purple carpet was laid out for him, and canons were fired.
The reception given to former Vice President Joe Biden is generally considered to have been less glamorous. In the month of July, the president of the United States was welcomed to the port city of Jeddah on the Red Sea by the governor of Mecca as well as the Saudi ambassador to the United States. When Biden and MBS met in Jeddah, they shook hands and gave each other a fist bump, which became the focus of headlines across the world and set the tone for what would eventually turn out to be a frosty visit.
This week, state-run media outlets in both Saudi Arabia and China have been keen to showcase the strong relations that their respective governments enjoy. The friendly connection between Saudi Arabia and China, which, according to Saudi state television, spans more than eight decades, was demonstrated by playing video from previous encounters between Saudi and Chinese officials.
In a signed article that was published on Thursday in the Saudi newspaper Al Riyadh, Chinese President Xi Jinping stated that his visit to the kingdom this week “will usher in a new era in China’s relations with the Arab world, with Arab states of the Gulf, and with Saudi Arabia.” Xi’s comments were made in reference to China’s upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia.
Xi wrote that “the Arab people value independence, oppose external interference, stand up to power politics and high-handedness, and always seek to make progress.” He added that “the Arab world is an important member of the developing world and a key force for upholding international fairness and justice.”
In the article titled “Carrying Forward Our Millenia-old Friendship and Jointly Creating a Better Future,” Chinese President Xi Jinping wrote that China and Arab states will “continue to hold high the banner of non-interference in internal affairs, firmly support each other in safeguarding sovereignty and territorial integrity, and jointly uphold international fairness and justice.” This was a nod to US diplomacy, whose ties with the Saudis have crumbled due to OPEC’s decision.
According to a report from SPA, the energy minister of Saudi Arabia emphasized that Saudi-Chinese relations are “witnessing a qualitative leap” and that the kingdom “will remain China’s credible and reliable partner” in regard to the supply of oil. He also stated that Saudi Arabia will “remain China’s credible and reliable partner.”
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on Wednesday that the upcoming China-Arab States Summit “will be an epoch-making milestone in the history of China-Arab relations” and that “President Xi’s state visit to Saudi Arabia will elevate the China-Saudi Arabia comprehensive strategic partnership to a new height.”
According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), on Wednesday, Saudi and Chinese companies signed 34 investment deals spanning multiple industries, including green energy, information technology, cloud services, transportation, logistics, the medical industry, housing, and construction. These deals were signed.
Although the monetary value of the transactions has not been disclosed, it was earlier stated by SPA that the two nations are anticipated to sign deals during this week’s visit that are worth more than $29 billion.
The visit by Xi to Saudi Arabia takes place at a time when relations between the two countries and the United States are strained. The United States holds a number of grievances against the two states regarding oil production, human rights, and other matters.
Despite the fact that China and Saudi Arabia have known each other for decades, their relationship appears to have strengthened recently due to the fact that both countries are in hazardous positions in relation to the United States.
The White House has stated that the fact that Xi is travelling around the world and to the Middle East should “not come as a surprise.” “We’re concerned about the influence that China is attempting to build across the world,” said John Kirby, the strategic communications coordinator at the US National Security Council. “We’re mindful of the influence that China is trying to grow around the world.”