China and Saudi Arabia have vowed to upgrade their partnership with more top-level dialogue and coordination on energy policy.
The pledge was made after a lavish welcome to Riyadh for visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping – in sharp contrast to the lacklustre reception given to US President Joe Biden in July.
In meetings with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud late on Thursday, Xi said China regarded Saudi Arabia as a foreign relations priority, especially in its ties with the Middle East.
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“The current international and regional situation is undergoing profound and complex changes, and the strategic importance of China-Saudi Arabia relations has become more prominent,” Xi said, according to a statement released by the Chinese foreign ministry on Friday.
The two nations agreed to a meeting between their heads of state every two years and elevated the China-Saudi Arabia High-Level Joint Committee – established for trade, tech, culture, tourism and security matters – from vice-premier to premier level.
In a meeting with the crown prince, who is also the Saudi prime minister, Xi said China was willing to step up energy policy coordination and expand crude oil trade with the kingdom, in addition to their existing joint exploration projects.
The two sides also signed a memorandum of understanding on hydrogen energy.
A number of other agreements were also signed, including a plan to “harmonise” Vision 2030 – Saudi Arabia’s ambitious economic reform agenda – with China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the trade and infrastructure programme linking China to countries across Asia and Africa.
The signed deals covered a petrochemicals project, housing development and the teaching of the Chinese language. China also agreed to list Saudi Arabia as a destination for outbound tourism and expand personnel and cultural exchanges.
On Wednesday, Chinese and Saudi Arabian companies signed 34 agreements covering green energy, information technology, infrastructure and health. Another 20 agreements worth US$29 billion are expected to be signed, according to state broadcaster Al-Ekhbariya.
High on the agenda for Xi’s first state visit to the kingdom since 2016 are the China-Gulf Cooperation Council summit and China-Arab nation summit, with more than a dozen of the region’s leaders expected to attend.
Meanwhile, Riyadh’s relations with Washington are at an all-time low, most recently over the Opec+ decision to cut oil output by 2 million barrels a day. Ties between the US and its most important partner in the Middle East were already affected by accusations of human rights violation after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
China has been Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partner since 2013, while Riyadh has been Beijing’s biggest oil provider for years, accounting for 17.8 per cent of China’s total oil imports in the first three quarters of 2022. The Middle East was also the main beneficiary of belt and road investment in the first half of this year.
“China supports Saudi Arabia in playing a bigger role in international and regional affairs,” Xi told bin Salman, adding that the summits with the Gulf Cooperation Council and Arab nations would be leading China’s relations with the region.
“China looks forward to working with Saudi Arabia and Arab countries to make the two summits milestone events in the history of China-Arab relations and China-Gulf nations relations, and push China-Arab relations and China-Gulf nations relations to a new level,” he said.
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The state-owned Saudi Press Agency said joint cooperation and “opportunities to invest available resources in both countries to achieve common interests” were also discussed.
According to the Chinese foreign ministry statement, bin Salman told Xi the kingdom supports China’s efforts to remove extremism, a veiled reference to criticisms in the West of alleged human rights violations in Xinjiang.
Saudi Arabia gave a lavish reception to Xi, with four fighter jets from the Royal Saudi Air Force escorting his plane as it entered the country’s airspace on Wednesday.
Xi was also awarded an honorary doctoral degree in management from King Saud University, the country’s first academic institution established in 1957.
In contrast, Biden’s arrival in Riyadh in July was a low-key affair, with just a fist bump – and no smiles – exchanged between the US leader and bin Salman.
Additional reporting by Kawala Xie
More from South China Morning Post:
- During Xi’s visit to Middle East, China and Saudi Arabia sign 34 energy and investment deals
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