Dubai:Chinese leader Xi Jinping will arrive in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to attend meetings with oil-rich Gulf Arab nations crucial to his country's energy supplies as Beijing tries to revive an economy battered by its strict coronavirus measures. Saudi and Chinese flags flew on Wednesday in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, ahead of the visit. Gulf Arab states are trying to recalibrate their foreign policy as the United States turns its attention to elsewhere in the world.
Russia's war on Ukraine and the West's hardening stance on Moscow has also left the Arab countries wanting to cement ties with China. During the visit, Xi is expect to attend the inaugural China-Arab States Summit and a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes the kingdom along with Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Though few other details about the visit have emerged, Chinese authorities offered superlatives ahead of the trip. It's the largest and highest-level diplomatic event between China and the Arab world since the founding of the People's Republic of China and will become an epoch-making milestone in the history of China-Arab relations, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters at a daily briefing on Wednesday.
Whether the meeting reaches those heights, Xi knows he needs that supply of crude oil. China, the world's largest crude oil importer, relies heavily on Saudi oil, paying tens of billions of dollars annually to the kingdom. Xi plans to meet both 86-year-old Saudi King Salman, as well as his 37-year-old son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.