Interesting perspective(shamelessly stolen from another BB: by Al-Jazeera staff writer, Dec. 7/22)
China is Saudi Arabia’s biggest trading partner, and the kingdom is China’s largest supplier of oil, so it’s normal for their leaders to meet and talk.
But these are not normal times.
list of 4 items list 1 of 4 list 2 of 4 list 3 of 4 list 4 of 4 end of list Before President Xi Jinping has even set foot on Saudi soil, there’s already talk of “stepping on Washington’s toes” and of interfering in a “US sphere of influence”.
Indeed, during his visit to Riyadh only five months ago, United States President Joe Biden told a summit of Arab leaders that the US “will not walk away” from the Middle East to leave “a vacuum to be filled by China, Russia or Iran”. Biden has also tried to assure allies that the humiliating US withdrawal from Afghanistan last year will actually free more resources for its long stay in the Gulf and wider region.
But that has not deterred Xi or his hosts from organising, in addition to a bilateral summit, separate summits with Arab states and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) during the Chinese president’s visit to Riyadh from December 7-9. To rub salt into the wound, they might even go the extra mile in making the summits appear more prestigious than those organised for Biden.
Why? Well, because US-Saudi relations, much like US-China ties, have been strained despite American attempts to maintain appearances of constructive engagement.
Both Riyadh and Beijing have grown tired of Washington pressuring them to take its side against Russia in Ukraine and preaching the rights and wrongs of their ways in the Western-imposed “rules-based international system”. All of this seems to have brought them closer together.
A younger generation of Gulf leaders is showing more agency as they seek greater independence from Washington to diversify their partnerships in energy, technology and security. China’s a natural partner for them: it seeks reliable energy sources and markets for its goods and services, and prioritises development and trade over democracy and human rights.
Some if not most of these Gulf leaders oppose Biden’s attempts at reviving the Iran nuclear deal and his politicisation of human rights issues. Earlier this year, the GCC even expressed support for China’s controversial policies towards its Muslim Uighurs, which have been condemned by the United States and others.
In 2021, the Biden administration snubbed Saudi Arabia because of its poor human rights record and because it could afford to, with an excess of oil and gas in the global markets. Western nations were also bullish about the transition away from fossil fuels to green energy.