China’s Xi arrives in Saudi on ‘epoch-making’ visit to deepen ties

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RIYADH, Dec 7 (Reuters) –

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday on a visit Beijing hailed as its biggest diplomatic initiative in the Arab world, as Riyadh expands global alliances beyond a longstanding partnership with the West.

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The meeting between the global economic powerhouse and Gulf energy giant comes as Saudi ties with Washington are strained by U.S. criticism of Riyadh’s human rights record and Saudi support for oil output curbs before the November midterm elections.

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The White House said on Wednesday that Xi’s visit was an example of Chinese attempts to exert influence and that this would not change U.S. policy towards the Middle East.

“We are mindful of the influence that China is trying to grow around the world,” White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

Xi was met on arrival by Riyadh governor Prince Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and the governor of sovereign wealth fund PIF, Yasir al-Rumayyan, Saudi state media said, airing footage.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is expected to offer Xi a lavish welcome, in contrast with the low-key reception for U.S. President Joe Biden whose censure of Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler formed the backdrop for a strained meeting in July.

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The Saudi cabinet was meeting on Wednesday to approve the 2023 state budget of the world’s top oil exporter.

Xi’s trip includes direct talks with Saudi Arabia, a wider meeting with Gulf Arab states and a summit with Arab leaders which will be “an epoch-making milestone in the history of the development of China-Arab relations,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.

Beijing hopes it will make a strong statement on strengthening “unity and cooperation,” Mao added.

For Riyadh, frustrated by what it sees as Washington’s gradual disengagement from the Middle East and a slow erosion of its security guarantees, China offers an opportunity for economic gains without the tensions which have come to cloud the U.S. relationship.

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“Beijing does not burden its partners with demands or political expectations and refrains from interfering in their internal affairs,” Saudi columnist Abdulrahman Al-Rashed wrote in the Saudi-owned Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

Unlike Washington, Beijing retains good ties with Riyadh’s regional rival Iran, another supplier of oil to China, and has shown little interest in addressing Saudi political or security concerns in the region.

Saudi Arabia, birthplace of Islam, had

supported

China’s policies in Xinjiang, where the U.N. says human rights abuses have been committed against Uyghurs and other Muslims.

Growing Chinese influence in the Middle East has unnerved the United States. China, the world’s biggest energy consumer, is a major trade partner of Gulf oil and gas producers. Saudi Arabia is its top oil supplier.

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The Chinese delegation is expected to sign deals worth $30 billion with Riyadh, Saudi state news agency SPA said.

While economic ties remain anchored by energy interests, bilateral ties have expanded under the Gulf’s infrastructure and technology push, part of economic diversification plans.

The United States, which for decades has been Saudi Arabia’s main security guarantor and remains its main defense supplier, has expressed security concerns about growing Chinese involvement in sensitive infrastructure projects in the Gulf.

Riyadh has said it would continue to expand partnerships to serve economic and security interests, despite U.S. reservations about Gulf ties with both Russia and China.

(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista in Beijing and Aziz El Yaakoubi in Riyadh; Additional reporting by Ghaida Ghantous in Dubai and Steve Holland and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Nick Macfie and Toby Chopra)