China News Agency, Washington, July 16. After concluding his visit to Israel and the West Bank, US President Biden flew to Jeddah, the second largest city in Saudi Arabia, on the afternoon of the 15th local time, to meet with Saudi leaders.

His gesture of "bumping fists" when he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed caused controversy in the United States.

Data map: US President Biden.

　　Saudi Arabia is the last stop of Biden's first Middle East trip during his tenure, and it is also the itinerary that has received the most attention from public opinion in the United States.

On the one hand, the soaring oil price in the United States needs to "calibrate" the relationship with Saudi Arabia to coordinate international crude oil supply. On the other hand, the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia, which has been cold because of the Khashoggi killing, will test how Biden can balance human rights issues and strategic interests in diplomatic occasions.

　　After more than two hours of talks with Saudi leaders, Biden delivered a speech to the media at 10:45 p.m. local time to inform the content of the talks.

The United States and Saudi Arabia did not issue a joint communique, and the White House released the results of the talks in the form of a "fact document".

　　In October 2018, Saudi Arabian journalist Khashoggi was killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed approved the "capture or killing" of Khashoggi, according to an investigative report declassified by U.S. intelligence agencies in 2021.

But the report was completely rejected by Saudi officials.

　　Biden said he held talks with Saudi King Salman for about half an hour that day, and then held a working meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed and Saudi government officials.

"Regarding the Khashoggi killing, I raised the issue at the beginning of the meeting and discussed it bluntly. I made my point very clear."

　　In the opinion of American public opinion, Biden's meeting with the Saudi crown prince itself has shown that his stance on human rights issues has softened.

When answering questions from reporters, Biden emphasized that the meeting that day was a work meeting, and "I didn't come to see the crown prince."

He said the purpose of his trip was to meet with the heads of the Gulf Cooperation Council to support the security and needs of the United States.

　　The Associated Press believes that the current challenges facing the United States on energy and the Iranian nuclear issue have masked human rights issues to a certain extent, and Saudi Arabia also hopes to strengthen security cooperation with the United States while promoting its economic transformation.

"The leaders of the two countries appear to be taking joint measures in a gradual manner."

　　According to the "fact document" released by the White House, the bilateral meeting between the leaders of the United States and Saudi Arabia reached a number of results.

Among them, the multinational peacekeeping force involving the US military will withdraw from the Red Sea island of Tiran by the end of 2022, and Saudi Arabia has agreed to retain and maintain existing commitments and procedures in the region.

Saudi Arabia opens airspace to Israeli civilian flights.

Both moves are seen as helping to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

　　In terms of energy security cooperation, Saudi Arabia has pledged to support the balance of the global crude oil market, and the United States welcomed Saudi Arabia's increase in oil production in July and August.

　　The United States and Saudi Arabia also discussed the situation in Yemen in detail on the same day, and promised to take measures to extend and strengthen the ceasefire agreement brokered by the United Nations as much as possible.

　　In addition to the above-mentioned achievements, the US and Saudi Arabia have also reached an agreement on strengthening cooperation in infrastructure construction, information and communication, network security, public health, maritime security and other fields.

　　On the 16th local time, Biden's trip to the Middle East "finished".

He will attend the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Iraq, Jordan and Egypt (GCC+3) summits.

(Finish)