The Chinese state newspaper Global Times proclaimed on Monday that China’s relationship with Saudi Arabia is in a “‘honeymoon’ period” following the deterioration of U.S.-Saudi relations under leftist President Joe Biden, citing the successful culmination of a Saudi-Chinese trade event this weekend reportedly resulting in $10 billion in deals.
Riyadh hosted an event dubbed the Arab-China Business Conference this weekend that Saudi media claimed attracted thousands of politicians and business elites seeking to solidify Chinese involvement in Arab economies. It occurred less than a week after Biden sent his top diplomat, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah. The governments of both nations claimed the two discussed the ongoing war in Sudan, the diminished presence of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and “progress on human rights.”
This weekend’s business conference also followed genocidal Chinese dictator Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia in December, an ostentatious affair in which the Saudis received Xi with fighter jets adorning the sky in the colors of the Chinese flag, a 21-gun salute, and a royal band performance, among other honors.
Reports prior to Xi’s arrival indicated that the countries expected to sign agreements worth as much as $29 billion.
The blossoming friendly ties between Saudi Arabia, custodian of the holiest sites in Islam, and China are occurring as Xi continues to execute a years-long campaign of genocide against Muslim populations in occupied East Turkistan, to China’s far-west and administered under the Communist Party as the “Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.” In East Turkistan, China has imprisoned as many as 3 million ethnic Turkic peoples, most of them Muslims, in concentration camps, where they are forced to eat pork, worship Xi Jinping, and face extreme torture, slavery, forced sterilization, and other horrors. The Saudi government has endorsed the genocide, claiming it is a “counter-terrorism” operation.
The Global Times noted on Monday that, at the Arab-China Business Conference, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman addressed concerns voiced in the West, particularly in the United States, that Riyadh was allowing Beijing too much influence in its politics and economy, at the detriment of Saudi ties to America.
“I actually ignore it because … as a business person .. now you will go where opportunity comes your way,” the energy minister said. “We don’t have to be facing any choice which has to do with (saying) either with us or with the others.”
Prince Abdulaziz emphasized that the Saudi government has no interest in “competing” with China, but rather seeks to “collaborate.”
“The positive momentum of China-Saudi Arabia cooperation in terms of both economic and security aspects is giving Saudi Arabia more confidence to seek pragmatic cooperation with all sides, boycotting US efforts to woo it to take sides in geopolitical power games,” the state propaganda outlet asserted. The Global Times claimed that China’s largess towards Saudi Arabia, and not Biden’s promise to turn Saudi Arabia into a “pariah” state, was the deciding factor in the change in foreign policy in Riyadh.
“The reason why China and Saudi Arabia are enjoying a ‘honeymoon’ period of cooperation is that bilateral cooperation has addressed two major economic and security concerns of Saudi Arabia,” the Global Times claimed. “First, China will remain the largest crude oil importer for the foreseeable future, while Saudi Arabia is a major oil exporter, therefore a constructive relationship with China is in line with the Middle East nation’s interests.”
“Second,” it continued, “the long-term security dilemma in the Middle East has gradually eased under China’s mediation efforts, which has further freed up space for more China-Middle East cooperation.”
The Times referred to an agreement brokered in Beijing between Saudi Arabia and its top geopolitical rival, Iran, in March, which restored the two nations’ embassies in each other’s capitals and flights connecting the countries. The surprise agreement greatly elevated China’s status as an influential force in the Middle East, potentially at the expense o the United States.
The Times also noted that Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan defended his nation’s ties to China standing next to Blinken during the latter’s visit last week.
“China is our largest trading partner, so naturally there is a lot of interaction and intersection with China,” Prince Faisal said. “That cooperation is likely to grow just because China’s economic impact in the region and beyond is likely to grow as its economy continues to grow.”
The Global Times concluded that “no one can go against” the tide of countries seeking closer business ties to China, what it called the “general trend of international development.”
Biden entered the White House in 2021 under the shadow of his “pariah” comment – a remark made during a presidential debate in a discussion about the gruesome Saudi dismemberment of Islamist Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi. The Saudis, particularly the crown prince, took great offense at the comment. Rumors of Mohammed bin Salman (commonly known by his initials, MBS) intentionally “duping” the Biden administration with false promises of oil production increases, mocking Biden’s “mental acuity,” and limiting cooperation with the United States have plagued the bilateral relationship since Biden took office. As recently as last week, alleged intelligence leaks claimed a furious MBS asserted he would “not deal with the U.S. administration anymore” and punish America with “major economic consequences.”
MBS met with Biden last year in Jeddah, where the two greeted each other with an awkward “fist-bump” many interpreted as Biden abandoning his “pariah” strategy.
Publicly, the Saudis have not behaved with active hostility toward the Biden administration, instead increasing their effusive praise for the government of China.
“We want more brands, technologies, and access to global and Chinese markets,” Saudi Investment Minister Khalid A. Al-Falih enthusiastically told the South China Morning Post and several other reporters in a “closed-door meeting” this week. The minister noted that Saudi public interest in and demand for Chinese name brands was also growing, and while the country wants “China to come build railroad, ports,” it also wants its shops full of Chinese products.
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