RYADH — Chinese President
Xi Jinping on Friday touted
close security and energy ties with Gulf nations during summits in Saudi Arabia
that have highlighted tensions with Washington.
اضافة اعلان
On the third and final day of his visit, Xi attended a
gathering of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council and a broader China-Arab
leaders' meeting.
It was only Xi's third journey outside China since the
COVID-19 pandemic began.
Friday's talks followed bilateral sit-downs on Thursday with
Saudi royals that yielded a joint statement stressing "the importance of
stability" in oil markets — a point of friction with the US, which has
urged the Saudis to raise production.
"China will continue to firmly support the
GCC countries in maintaining their own security ... and build a collective security
framework for the Gulf," Xi said on Friday at the start of the China-GCC
summit.
"China will continue to import large quantities of
crude oil from GCC countries on an ongoing basis," he said, also vowing to
expand other areas of energy cooperation including liquefied natural gas
imports.
Additionally, Xi said China would make full use of a
Shanghai-based platform "to carry out (Chinese yuan) settlement of oil and
gas trade" — a move that, if Gulf countries participate, could weaken the
global dominance of the US dollar.
Asked at a press conference, as the summits came to close
Friday evening, if Riyadh would agree to such a scheme, Saudi Foreign Minister
Prince Faisal bin Farhan said he had "nothing to add".
Oil from Saudi Arabia alone accounted for 17 percent of
China's imports last year, and last month Qatar announced a 27-year natural gas
deal with China.
Rejecting 'polarity'
Xi's visit comes amid persistent rancor between
Saudi Arabia
and the US, its long-time partner and security guarantor, over oil production,
human rights issues and regional security.
It follows US President Joe Biden's trip to Jeddah in July,
before midterm elections, when he failed to persuade the Saudis to pump more
oil to reduce prices.
Xi's arrival in the kingdom on Wednesday earned a rebuke
from the White House, which warned of "the influence that China is trying
to grow around the world".
Washington called Beijing's objectives "not conducive
to preserving the international rules-based order".
Saudi officials have repeatedly stressed that they value
deep ties with Washington but will not hesitate to explore relationships
elsewhere.
"We are very much focused on cooperation with all
parties and I think competition is a good thing," Prince Faisal said on
Friday, adding that Riyadh will also continue to have strong relations with the
US "across the board".
"We will continue to work with all of our partners and
we don't see it as a zero-sum game by any means," he added.
"We don't believe in polarity."
Trade talks
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman addressed both summits on
Friday, promising "continuing Arab-Chinese cooperation to serve our common
goals and aspirations of our peoples".
The Gulf countries, strategic partners of Washington, are
bolstering ties with China as part of an eastward turn that involves
diversifying their fossil fuel-reliant economies.
At the same time China, hit hard by its COVID-19 lockdowns,
is trying to revive its economy and widen its sphere of influence, notably
through its Belt and Road Initiative which provides funding for infrastructure
projects around the world.
One area of focus for the China-GCC summit was a free trade
agreement under discussion for nearly two decades.
Drawing those negotiations to a close would be "a
matter of prestige for Beijing", said Robert Mogielnicki of the Arab Gulf
States Institute in Washington.
"It's not as simple for the GCC states, which seem to
be more invested in advancing bilateral ties and are engaged in varying degrees
of regional economic competition with their neighboring member
states."
No breakthrough was announced on Friday.
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