News Saudi prince seeks Mideast leadership, independence with Xi’s visit In a show of strength as an aspiring leader of the Arab world, Prince Mohammed will gather rulers from across the Middle East and North Africa for a Chinese-Arab summit during the visit by President Xi Jinping expected to start on Tuesday. “Riyadh is working according to strategic calculations that it must accommodate Beijing, as it is now an indispensable economic partner,” said Ayham Kamel, head of Middle East and North Africa at Eurasia Group. Though the United States remains partner of choice for Gulf states reliant on it for their security, Riyadh is charting a foreign policy that serves its national economic transformation as the world pivots away from hydrocarbons, Saudi’s lifeblood, the analysts said. “There is certainly a risk that expanding relations with China backfires and lead to a (further) split in the U.S.-Saudi relationship... but MBS is certainly not pursuing this out of spite,” Kamel said. Xi’s visit comes at a time when U.S.-Saudi ties are at a nadir, uncertainty weighs on global energy markets with the West imposing a price cap on Russian oil and as Washington warily eyes China’s growing influence in the Middle East. The Saudi government did not respond to requests for comment on Xi’s visit and its agenda. In a sign of irritation with U.S. criticism of Riyadh’s human rights record, Prince Mohammed told The Atlantic magazine in March that he did not care whether U.S. President Joe Biden misunderstood things about him, saying Biden should be focusing on America’s interests. He also suggested in remarks carried by Saudi state news agency SPA that same month that while Riyadh aimed to boost its ties to Washington it could also choose to reduce “our interests” -- Saudi investments -- in the United States. Saudi Arabia is deepening economies ties to China. It is China’s top oil supplier, although fellow OPEC+ producer Russia has increased its Chinese market share with lower-priced fuel. Beijing has also been lobbying for use of its yuan currency in trade instead of the U.S. dollar. Riyadh had previously threatened to ditch some dollar oil trades to confront possible U.S. legislation exposing OPEC members to antitrust lawsuits. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hosts China’s leader this week at a delicate moment in U.S.-Saudi ties, signalling Riyadh’s resolve to navigate a polarised global order, analysts said. By Reuters News
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