Africa -China Review Africa -China Cooperation and Transformation
Published: December 08,2022
By Staff writer
President Xi Jinping on Wednesday arrived in the capital city of Saudi Arabia -Riyadh, where he will attend the China-Arab States Summit and the China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit. This is the first time this meeting is being held. Xi is also expected to pay a state visit to Saudi Arabia from December 7 to 10 at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia.
Xi’s visit will be the largest and highest-level diplomatic event between China and the Arab world since the founding of the People’s Republic of China. It will be an epoch-making milestone in the history of China-Arab relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press briefing on Wednesday.
Xi said he will have an in-depth exchange of views on bilateral ties and international and regional issues of common concern during his visit with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi Press Agency reported that more than 20 initial agreements worth $29.26 billion are expected to be signed during Xi’s visit to Saudi Arabia.
In the lead-up to the summit, the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a report on China-Arab cooperation in the new era, describing the summit as a milestone event and noting that Beijing will take it as an opportunity to promote the building of a China-Arab community with a shared future in the new era.
Although Saudi Arabia enjoys good bilateral relations with US, China is the biggest oil trade partner. In 2021, China imported close to $11 billion worth of oilCompared to $5 billion from the US. “When countries in the Gulf think of their future, they see China as their partner,” said Gedaliah Afterman, head of the Asia Policy Program at the Abba Eban Institute for Diplomacy and International Relations at ReichmanUniversity in Israel. United Arab Emirates VisitingSenior Fellow at Harvard University AbdulkhaleqAbdulla observes that, “the new reality is that China is rising and Asia is rising and whether the US likes it or not, we have to deal with China.”
Experts believe Saudi Arabia’s proactive attitude toward enhancing cooperation with China reflects a new paradigm of “looking East” in its foreign policy and the strategic direction of placing higher priority on China.
President Xi last visited Saudi Arabia in January 2016, during which the two sides agreed to promote bilateral relations into a comprehensive strategic partnership.
