Regulating Relations with the West with the Help of the East
Xi Jinping arrived in Saudi Arabia to strengthen relations with the Gulf countries, meeting with over 30 regional leaders, a move that somewhat concerned Washington.
Xi Jinping has returned to the international stage as a powerful champion after more than two years of isolation due to the pandemic. In recent months, the Chinese leader has participated in various multilateral and bilateral meetings aimed at strengthening China’s foreign relations.
After the G20 summit in Indonesia and the APEC summit in Thailand, Xi Jinping visited Saudi Arabia on December 7, reflecting Beijing’s efforts to become a leading player in the Gulf region. This area, rich in fossil resources, plays an important role in China’s energy diversification. Additionally, the growing dissatisfaction with the United States and the West has turned many Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, into key partners for redesigning the global order and replacing the current one.
Seize the day carpe diem
Xi Jinping arrived in Riyadh and during his three-day stay participated in numerous meetings both with Saudi leaders and in multilateral talks with other Gulf and Arab regional leaders. This is Jinping’s third trip abroad after two years of isolation due to the pandemic. In recent weeks, the Chinese president has been particularly active on the diplomatic front, meeting foreign leaders and striving to revive and restore China’s international image, which has been severely damaged recently due to the pandemic and Beijing’s refusal to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Jinping’s meetings have focused on China’s foreign policy priorities: the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Central Asia, where Russia is losing its power and China can expand its influence; participation in the G20 and APEC summits in Southeast Asia, a region close and of great economic and strategic importance, increasingly becoming a center of international attention; and finally, Saudi Arabia, a country rich in energy resources.
It should be noted that the timing of this recent trip is no coincidence. While relations between Riyadh and Washington are increasingly tense, China’s presence in the Gulf is growing more and more. Beijing is certainly well aware that, like many countries, it will be difficult for Saudi Arabia to remain neutral in the face of escalating tensions between China and the United States, and thus Jinping’s visit could not have come at a better time.
Strategic Cooperation
The trip to Saudi Arabia after the G20 meeting in Bali and the APEC summit in Thailand indicates the importance China places on Riyadh. With exports of 81 million tons of oil in 2021, Riyadh is the leading oil supplier to China. Conversely, last year, especially after the disorderly withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan, Saudi oil supply to the United States decreased.
Therefore, energy supply was a key topic in the leaders’ meetings, but the partnership between Beijing and Riyadh goes beyond this. China is Saudi Arabia’s main trading partner, and the two countries have considerable cooperation, including China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a project investing in the infrastructure of over 70 countries and international organizations, and the development of two trade routes: the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road, which are central to Xi Jinping’s foreign policy.
And Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 is a program aimed at reducing Saudi Arabia’s dependency on oil, diversifying its economy, and developing service sectors like healthcare, education, infrastructure, entertainment, and tourism.
Saudi Arabia has also voted in favor of using the Renminbi, the official currency of China, whose main unit is the Yuan, for paying for its energy resources in Beijing. This currency is legally circulated in mainland China but not in Hong Kong and Macau.
Like other countries in the region, Riyadh seems significantly interested in seeking multilateral platforms for dialogue as alternatives to Western platforms. Saudi Arabia has also applied to become a dialogue partner and member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a mechanism for cooperation on security, economic, and cultural issues, with China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan as its main members.
And finally, Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in joining BRICS, an organization that brings together some of the world’s largest emerging economies, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Therefore, for Beijing, which seeks to create an international order outside the hegemony of the United States and the West, Riyadh can be considered a vital partner.
Does Riyadh Enjoy the Dispute Between the West and China?
Over the past year, relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States have significantly deteriorated. In the ever-changing Middle East, the United States is often seen as a distant and unreliable partner.
After the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Saudi Arabia has repeatedly expressed its interest in maintaining good relations with Russia, especially within OPEC+. The latest event from this perspective was the decision by OPEC+ countries in October to reduce production by about two million barrels a day. This choice followed months of pressure from the United States on Riyadh, trying to compel Saudi Arabia to increase production to balance the rising prices in the global market.
During the global energy crisis, Riyadh and OPEC+’s decision was viewed by Washington as a political choice, particularly due to the international context in which it was made. Therefore, this tension opens the space for China to strengthen its presence in the region and attempt to overshadow the U.S. presence.
However, although Saudi Arabia increasingly aligns itself with China, completely replacing the United States will be difficult for the country, at least for now. China is not yet willing to introduce itself as a guarantor of stability in the region. Additionally, the United States is one of the largest suppliers of arms to the Saudi military, and only in August, the Biden administration approved the sale of military equipment worth $3 billion. Despite the importance of the United States on a military level, a Middle East politically abandoned by Washington would considerably provide a favorable ground for Beijing’s interests.