The three-day visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping began on Wednesday, according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA). Xi will be travelling overseas for the third time on this three-day trip since the coronavirus outbreak started. Prince Faisal bin Bandar, the governor of Riyadh, and Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, greeted Xi at King Khalid International Airport. The Saudi-China meeting, which will be presided over by King Salman and the Chinese president and include Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, will take place on December 9 during the remainder of Xi’s tour to the Kingdom.
China is the biggest consumer of oil from Saudi Arabia, the major exporter of crude, and both sides appear keen to extend their relationship at a time of economic turbulence and geopolitical realignment. This is just President Xi’s third overseas trip since the coronavirus outbreak started, and it is his first visit to Saudi Arabia since 2016. It follows US Vice President Joe Biden’s unsuccessful visit to the country in July, during which he called for increased oil output.
Additionally to a summit with the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council and a larger China-Arab summit, it will include bilateral discussions with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who serves as the country’s de facto ruler. Since the PRC’s founding, the initiative is the “largest-scale diplomatic endeavour between China and the Arab world.”
