President Xi Jinping told the leaders of the Gulf Arab nations that China would work to purchase oil and gas in yuan, a move that would help Beijing’s objective of internationalising its currency and reduce the influence of the U.S. dollar on global trade.
Saudi Arabia and China both sent strong messages during Xi’s visit on “non-interference”. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hosted two “milestone” Arab summits with the Chinese leader. Any move by Saudi Arabia to ditch the dollar in its oil trade would be a seismic political move, which Riyadh had previously threatened. Saudi Arabia and China signed several strategic and economic partnership deals, but analysts said relations would remain anchored mostly by energy interests. Saudi Arabia agreed on a memorandum of understanding with Huawei this week on cloud computing and building high-tech complexes in Saudi cities. The Chinese tech giant has participated in building 5G networks in Gulf states despite U.S. concerns over possible security risks.
