DECRYPTION – At the end of a three-day trip to Riyadh, the Chinese president promised to strengthen ties with the monarchies, allies of the United States.
Diversify its economic partners but also its strategic allies. It is under this double sign that Saudi Arabia, joined on Friday by its neighbors from the Gulf, Iraq, Egypt and Tunisia, welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to Riyadh for three days. A visit – a first since 2016 – dominated by energy issues but where geopolitical interests were, implicitly, omnipresent.
“Saudi Arabia and its neighbors are adapting to a world that is once again becoming multipolar”analyzes an expert, familiar with this region, who recalls that the United States, long almost exclusive allies of the rich oil monarchies, must now come to terms with their Chinese rival.
The oil market has its reasons that diplomacy cannot ignore: Arabia and China are the two most important players in the sector, Riyadh as the world’s leading producer, Beijing, the leading consumer. At a time when the market, shaken by the war in Ukraine, is unpredictable…
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