Saudi Arabia and China sign strategic deals as Chinese President Xi Jinping heralds 'new era' in ties

Riyadh:  China and Saudi Arabia signed a number of agreements, including on energy and investments, after their leaders met in Riyadh on Thursday at a summit that showcased deep and growing ties beyond oil.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed the agreements at the royal palace.

It includes a strategic partnership agreement and a harmonisation plan between the kingdom’s Vision 2030 that aims to wean the economy off a reliance on oil and China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Memorandums of understanding were also signed on hydrogen energy, solar power, direct investments and housing.

King Salman signed a "comprehensive strategic partnership agreement" with Xi, who received a lavish welcome in a country forging new global partnerships beyond the West.

In an op-ed published in Saudi media, Xi said he was on a "pioneering trip" to "open a new era of China's relations with the Arab world, the Arab countries of the Gulf, and Saudi Arabia".

China and Arab countries would "continue to hold high the banner of non-interference in internal affairs, (and) firmly support each other in safeguarding sovereignty and territorial integrity", he wrote.

The leaders “reviewed aspects of partnership and joint coordination efforts” and discussed “opportunities to invest available resources” in both countries, according to state-run Saudi Press Agency.

Jinping was greeted with a horseback parade at the royal palace where he met Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince.

Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter, and China its top customer, making their relationship key to the crude markets. But both are looking to gradually diversify their energy mix.

Saudi state news agency gave few details about the agreements, which also included pacts in other sectors such as information technology, cloud services, transportation, logistics, medical industries, housing and construction.

These include an agreement with China’s Huawei on cloud computing and high speed internet complexes in Saudi Arabia, and another to build an aluminium plant signed between between the Saudi investment ministry and Shandong Innovation Group.

Also, an MOU to set up a hydrogen cracking project was signed, according to a statement by the Saudi government.

Green hydrogen

Saudi Arabia has started work on a large facility for green hydrogen in Neom, a Red Sea city under construction. The green hydrogen, a fuel seen as crucial to the global transition to cleaner energy, will be generated using solar and wind power.

“The Kingdom enjoys a strategic geographical location linking three continents” and overlooks some of the most important water crossings and energy resources, Saudi Investment Minister Khalid Al Falih said, according to SPA.

Earlier, Xi was welcomed at the Royal Court in Al Yamamah Palace by the Crown Prince where an official reception was held.

On Wednesday, Chinese and Saudi companies signed investment pacts for green hydrogen and solar energy during a a visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the kingdom.

There were no further details on the energy pacts announced on Saudi state news agency SPA.

It said 34 investment agreements in total had been signed, including in other sectors such as information technology, cloud services, transportation, logistics, medical industries, housing and construction.

Setting the tone for Xi’s visit, his plane was escorted by Saudi air force jets as it entered Saudi airspace and a 21-gun salute was fired as senior Saudi royals met him at the airport on Wednesday, the Chinese foreign ministry said.

In an op-ed published in Saudi media, Xi said he was on a “pioneering trip” to “open a new era of China’s relations with the Arab world, the Arab countries of the Gulf, and Saudi Arabia”.

China and Arab countries would “continue to hold high the banner of non-interference in internal affairs, firmly support each other in safeguarding sovereignty and territorial integrity”, he wrote.

Upon his arrival to Riyadh, Xi said that he looked forward to the China-Arab and China-GCC summits, which will be held during his visit to strengthen ties with Arab and Gulf countries, Al Arabiya reported.

The two countries will strengthen collaboration at the UN, the G20 and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Xi wrote in an editorial in Saudi newspaper Al Riyadh.

The volume of trade exchange between the two countries amounted to SR304 billion ($80 billion) in 2021, and trade exchange in the third quarter of 2022 recorded SR103 billion ($270 million).

Gulf-Chinese summit will be held on Friday

Xi’s visit to the Kingdom will run until December 9. A Saudi-China summit led by King Salman and the Chinese president, with the participation of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, is underway. Two other summits — a China-Gulf summit and a China-Arab summit — will be held with leaders from Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Arab states expected to attend.

GCC Secretary General Nayef Al Hajra said the Gulf-Chinese summit will be held on Friday.

Several Middle Eastern rulers, including Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al Sisi and Sudanese Sovereign Council head Abdul Fattah Al Burhan, arrived in Riyadh on Thursday.

Summits reflect desire to boost ties with China: Minister

The summits reflect the shared determination of the Kingdom, the other Gulf Cooperation Council nations and the wider Arab world to strengthen cooperation and enhance strategic relations with China in pursuit of greater growth and prosperity for all of the countries and their peoples, according to Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

“The relations between the Kingdom and China are strategic and close in light of the international developments and changes taking place,” he said.

The bilateral relationship is characterized by friendship, mutual trust, cooperation and continuous coordination, he added, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Upon his arrival to Riyadh, Xi said that he looked forward to the China-Arab and China-GCC summits, which will be held during his visit to strengthen ties with Arab and Gulf countries, Al Arabiya reported.

He added that he will discuss bilateral ties as well as international and regional affairs with King Salman and the Crown Prince during his visit, his first to the Kingdom since 2016.

Commenting on “close ties” between Beijing and Riyadh, Xi said “practical cooperation between the two countries yielded fruitful results in [various] fields.” He said that China and Saudi Arabia continue to “closely coordinate and communicate” regarding regional and international affairs.

He also said that he and King Salman had strengthened ties between the two countries ever since establishing the comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016, “strongly contributing to improving peace, stability and development in the region.”