China wants to strengthen its ties with Riyadh and the Middle East, under the watchful eye of the United States
This Thursday, December 8, President Xi Jinping (seen here yesterday when getting off the plane) is meeting the leaders of fourteen Arab and Gulf countries, with the signing of numerous contracts at stake.
VIA REUTERS - SAUDI PRESS AGENCY
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
Second day of visit for Xi Jinping in Saudi Arabia this Thursday, December 8.
The Chinese president meets the leaders of fourteen Arab and Gulf countries, with the signing of numerous contracts.
The opportunity for China to strengthen its economic ties with Riyadh and the Middle East, under the watchful eye of the United States.
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It has now been six years since Xi Jinping set foot on Saudi soil.
The Chinese president arrives as a master since he is the first oil customer of the Kingdom.
And Beijing is just strengthening its ties with the main suppliers of crude oil, against a background of instability with the war in Ukraine.
The two countries intend to do business with the new "silk roads" project for the Chinese, and the Vision 2030 development plan for the Saudis.
More than twenty contracts could thus be signed between Riyadh and Beijing according to observers, and this, for a value of nearly thirty billion euros.
An opportunity for Saudi Arabia to establish itself on the international scene
Mohammed ben Salman could also try to obtain observer status within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
The opportunity to impose itself more on the international scene for the Kingdom which sees itself as a future hub between Asia, Europe and Africa.
In terms of security, however, the strengthening of Sino-Saudi ties should however remain limited.
Riyadh can hardly afford to offend Washington, its first ally, at least cold with Beijing.
The United States also reacted to this trip through the voice of the spokesperson for the National Security Council.
Washington speaks of a Chinese influence in the Gulf countries which could “
harm the international order
”.
But what place could China have in the security field, so old is the military and strategic alliance between Washington and the Gulf countries?
For Camille Lons, of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), “
there has been the emergence of the beginnings of cooperation on military and security issues between China and the countries of the region.
It still remains a taboo because these are countries, especially in the Gulf, which completely depend on the American shield, especially to deal with Iran and even more at the moment with a real fear of escalation in the region.
»
Countries in demand "
to diversify their strategic partners
"
“
But
, says Camille Lons again,
these are countries that are in demand - precisely - for diversification of their strategic partners, and in particular in security issues at a time when they doubt Washington's will to support them in the long term. , the same way they have done so far.
We are seeing the beginnings of cooperation, in particular the Gulf countries which have bought drones from China that the United States and the Europeans refuse them.
We even have cooperation in the local development of drones and the manufacture of these in Saudi Arabia or the Emirates, so we are indeed seeing an emergence on the security side, but which remains minimal compared to the importance of the relationship. security with the United States
.
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