Xi Jinping visits Saudi Arabia: Will China completely replace US influence in Middle East – BBC News 中文

After Xi Jinping’s special plane entered Saudi airspace, four Saudi Air Force fighter planes took off to escort it; when it entered the sky over Riyadh, it was accompanied by six “Saudi Eagle” protocol escort planes. After the gun salute was fired, the protocol plane pulled out a red and yellow ribbon symbolizing the Chinese flag in the air.

Those who greeted Xi Jinping at the airport were Prince Faisal, Governor of Riyadh Province, Prince Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Rumeyyan, Minister of Chinese Affairs, and other members of the royal family.

On the second day, the Chinese convoy, escorted by motorcycle teams and cavalry teams flying the national flags of the two countries, arrived at the Palace Office Square. Crown Prince Mohammad greeted Xi Jinping and held a welcome ceremony. The two walked on a huge purple carpet and reviewed the palace guard of honor.

Both the Chinese and Saudi media have focused on the high-level courtesy of the Saudi side, and compared it with the low-key ceremony of Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia in July. At that time, Biden repeatedly criticized Crown Prince Mohammed for being involved in the “Khashuji murder case”, but in the face of high oil prices after the Russia-Ukraine war, he had to seek Saudi Arabia’s assistance in increasing crude oil production.

At that time, Biden did not receive the same standard of courtesy as Xi Jinping this time, and he and Crown Prince Mohammed “bumped their fists” instead of shaking hands. The message was worse than a handshake; Khashoggi’s fiancée tweeted that (the scene) made Khashoggi “die again”.

It is worth noting that former U.S. President Trump also received high-level courtesy when he visited Saudi Arabia in 2017. Saudi King Salman even greeted him at the airport in person. The Saudi side also organized a traditional sword dance (Ardah) welcome ceremony before the state banquet. Trump also held a sword in one hand and smiled; when he left, Trump also received more than 80 gifts from Saudi Arabia, including robes made of white tiger skin and cheetah skin, and luxuriously decorated daggers.

“For Saudi Arabia, these summits can be seen as an important strategic step to position itself as China’s main partner in the Gulf region and the wider region.” Finding itself in increasing competition with neighbors such as the UAE, a resilient Riyadh-Beijing relationship could help it reassert its dominance in the Gulf.

Recently, the influential Asharq Al-Awsat published an opinion piece saying that Riyadh valued its political similarity with Beijing, saying China’s “regime stability” and cooperation without strings and “political above expectations”.

Stronger partnerships would also help Saudi Arabia’s “Vision 2030” to establish itself as a global destination for tourism, sporting events and investment to diversify the country’s economy away from oil dependence.

As the world‘s largest oil importer, China’s relationship with Saudi Arabia has become increasingly important because the latter is the world‘s largest oil exporter. As China rapidly loosens control over the epidemic, the government hopes that the economy will recover quickly to make up for the losses caused by the blockade this year, and ensuring a stable energy supply, and even further expanding cooperation with Saudi Arabia in areas such as infrastructure and communications, will help. a process.

“If you look carefully, the significance (of this visit) goes far beyond the agreements and achievements between the two parties.” Sana Hashmi, a visiting scholar at the Taiwan Asia Exchange Foundation, told the BBC that the more important significance of this visit is that Xi Jinping ensured that After the third term, it can prove to the party and domestic public opinion that China is a powerful country internationally, especially after the recent protests.

Xi Jinping’s visit to the kingdom comes amid ongoing tensions between Saudi Arabia and its traditional ally, the United States.

After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in February this year, oil prices skyrocketed. In order to cope with the consequent skyrocketing prices, Biden visited Saudi Arabia, hoping that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) led by him could increase production and lower oil prices. But in October, OPEC later announced production cuts. Biden immediately said that the move would make Washington examine its long-term relationship with the organization.

Xi Jinping’s high-profile visit and intensive meetings with leaders of many countries, coupled with factors such as the sluggish relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia and the war between Russia and Ukraine, have led to speculation that the influence of global powers in the region may undergo deeper changes.

The Arab News website published an article saying that Xi Jinping represents a “new multipolar world“, noting that he “appears ready to reset the balance of global geopolitics”.

Before the visit, Xi Jinping published a signed article in the Saudi newspaper Riyadh, saying that he was on a “pioneering journey” to “open a new era of relations between China and the Arab world, the Gulf Arab countries, and Saudi Arabia.” We will continue to hold high the banner of non-interference in internal affairs with Arab countries.”

Chinese state media Xinhua reported that during the talks between the leaders of the two countries, Crown Prince Mohammed also stated that he “resolutely opposes any external forces interfering in China’s internal affairs in the name of human rights.”

This did not escape the attention of the White House, which warned that “China is trying to expand its influence around the world“, saying its goals “are not conducive to the maintenance of the rules-based international order”.

Previously, The Economist commented that in international relations, China does not intend to make other countries more like China, but hopes to establish an international system with “less control” so that a sovereign government does not have to submit to The definition of human rights in other countries, in other words, a system more suitable for the survival of authoritarian regimes. China often says that “mutual non-interference” and “mutual respect” are based on this principle, that is, “sovereignty comes first” rather than “human rights comes first.”

The above comments also believe that one of China’s practices is to expand bilateral relations among third world countries and gain supporters. China’s strong economic strength and indifference to human rights conditions have made many countries that are fed up with the American international system prefer China.

Husana believes that the comparison of the different courtesy of Biden and Xi Jinping in Saudi Arabia reflects the changes in the relationship between the two and Saudi Arabia. China hopes to take advantage of Saudi Arabia’s growing anti-Western sentiment in order to build anti-Western relations in the region to some extent. alliance. Beijing wants to present itself as both a friend and a strategic player in the Middle East.

However, the deep bond between Saudi Arabia and the United States cannot be reversed by a state visit. It seems that the cooperation results released by China and Saudi Arabia are almost all concentrated in the economic and trade field, and have not been further extended to the security and strategic fields.

BBC International Media Monitoring (BBC Monitoring) pointed out that recently, Saudi officials are downplaying the dispute with the United States on increasing oil production. The previous rumors that Saudi Arabia was considering using RMB to settle oil transactions with China have also disappeared. Moreover, looking at the media in the region, they do not position the Gulf region as an ally of the United States or China, but often ideally believe that a balance should be achieved in the relationship between the two.