During President Xi Jinping’s visit, Saudi Arabia and China showed their increasing connections by signing a number of key agreements, including one with tech giant Huawei, whose expanding presence in the Gulf area has concerned the US.
Xi was greeted by members of the Saudi Royal Guard riding Arabian horses and carrying Chinese and Saudi flags. The United States said Xi’s trip was an example of Chinese attempts to exert influence around the world and would not change US policy towards the Middle East. China’s President Xi Jinping begins a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia. He is due to meet with other Gulf oil producers and attend a wider gathering of Arab leaders. Chinese and Saudi firms also signed 34 deals for investment in green energy, information technology, cloud services, transport, construction and other sectors.
The visit comes as Saudi ties with Washington are strained by US criticism of Riyadh’s human rights record and support for output curbs. Saudi Arabia is China’s top oil supplier and President Xi Jinping’s visit comes as uncertainty hangs over energy markets after Western powers imposed a price cap on sales of oil from Russia. Bilateral ties have expanded under the region’s economic diversification push, raising US concerns about growing Chinese involvement in sensitive infrastructure in the Gulf. It gave no value for the deals but had earlier said the two countries would seal agreements worth $30 billion.
