Chinese President Xi Jinping participates Friday, December 9 in Riyadh in summits with Arab leaders presented by Beijing as “major events“, on the third day of a visit to Saudi Arabia with strong economic and geopolitical stakes.
Xi Jinping, who arrived in the capital of the Gulf oil monarchy on Wednesday, met King Salman and the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Thursday, with whom he signed agreements in various fields ranging from hydrogen to housing, but the details of which have not been communicated.
Two summits planned
This is the first visit by the leader of the world’s second largest economy to the kingdom since 2016, and his third trip abroad since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Two separate summits are scheduled for Friday, the first with the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and the second with other Middle Eastern leaders. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi and Tunisian President Kais Saied are among the heads of state who arrived in Riyadh on Thursday. The leaders of Qatar, Lebanon, Iraq and other countries have also confirmed their participation.
“China looks forward to working with Saudi Arabia and Arab countries to make the two summits landmark events in the history of China-Arab relations and China-GCC relations.Xi Jinping said Thursday in remarks reported by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
The Gulf countries, Washington’s strategic partners, have in recent years strengthened their ties with China as part of their efforts to reduce their economies’ dependence on hydrocarbons. The Asian giant, meanwhile, is seeking to expand its sphere of influence, in particular through its initiative tonew silk roads», vast international investment project wanted by the Chinese president.
Trade negotiations
The agenda of the various summits has not been communicated, but that with the Gulf countries could be an opportunity for China to relaunch negotiations on the free trade agreement with the regional bloc, which has been in the making since nearly twenty years, according to analysts. But “GCC countries (…) seem more invested in advancing bilateral ties, and are engaged to varying degrees in regional economic competition with neighboring member statessays Robert Mogielnicki of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.
A strengthening of economic ties with China could also help Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, to diversify its economy as part of the reform program led by its crown prince. According to Saudi state media, the visit is to result in the signing of agreements with Riyadh worth more than 110 billion Saudi riyals (27.8 billion euros).
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We must however be wary of the effects of announcement, underlines Robert Mogielnicki. “When it comes to China’s bilateral relations with the Gulf and the Middle East in general, it should be remembered that signing memorandums of understanding and pledging investment are much easier to do than actually commit capital“, according to him.
The visit of the Chinese president to the region did not fail to react to the United States, a strategic military partner of the Arab countries of the Gulf. This Wednesday, Washington warned against “the influence China wants to gain around the world“, believing that it is not likely to preserve”international order“.