RIYADH — Saudi Arabia, the Arab world, and China are increasingly drawing closer to each other amidst shifting geopolitical dynamics. Recently, a visiting delegation from the Arab League dismissed allegations of “ethnic genocide” and “religious persecution” of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, calling them entirely false, as conveyed by a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson. The Arab countries, according to the Global Times, appreciated China’s efforts in caring for minority groups, including Muslims in Xinjiang.
The 34-member group from 16 Arab countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Algeria visited Xinjiang between May 30 to June 2 after attending the 18th senior diplomats and officials’ meeting and the 7th senior official-level strategic political dialogue of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum.
Five days later, Chinese and Arabs gathered again for a two-day 10th Arab-China Business Conference in Riyadh and on the first day itself, deals worth $10 billion were signed, reflecting once again the deepening ties between the communist giant and the region. More than 30 deals were agreed across multiple sectors, including technology, renewables, agriculture, real estate, minerals, tourism and healthcare.
The 10th #Arab–#China Business Conference has begun in #Riyadh under the theme "Collaborating for Prosperity". @FaisalbinFarhan inaugurated the event.@ArabChinaConf @KSAmofaEN pic.twitter.com/UUEbFpcoZp
— TRENDS (@mena_trends) June 11, 2023
The largest deal worth $5.6 billion was signed by the Saudi Ministry of Investment and Chinese electric car maker Human Horizons to set up a joint venture to handle all aspects of EV production, from research to production and marketing.
“In terms of areas covered, this is all-round cooperation,” Liu Zhongmin, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, was quoted as saying by the Global Times, a Chinese publication, which reflects the opinion of the Chinese government. Zhongmin noted that Saudi Arabia and China are also expanding cooperation in more areas such as technology in addition to traditional cooperation in energy.
The conference featured a number of high-level speakers, including Wang Xiaolong, Minister of Commerce of China; Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Khateeb, Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia; and Mohamed Hegazy, Secretary-General of the Arab League. It also drew about 2,000 Chinese participants, the largest ever business delegation to Saudi Arabia, according to Reuters.
The Arab-China Business Conference came at a time of growing trade between Arab countries and China, which reached US$430 billion in 2022. Trade between China and Saudi Arabia alone exceeded US$106 billion last year, representing a 30 percent growth rate during 2021.
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The highlight of this relationship is the increasing warmth between Saudi Arabia and Beijing, underlined by China’s successful mediation of Saudi-Iran rapprochement on March 10. Ever since the geopolitics of the Gulf region has transformed beyond recognition. Saudi Arabia and Iran, otherwise bitter rivals who were engaged in regional one-upmanship through proxy wars against each other, have built upon Chinese-brokered detente to restore their diplomatic engagement. What is more, the two countries are now working to end their proxy war in Yemen. The leaders of the two countries may also soon be visiting each other following the recent exchange of invites by the two sides.
Does this mean Saudi Arabia and, in turn, the larger Arab world is moving away from the US and into the embrace of China? Yes, goes refrain among the geopolitical observers.
“Saudi Arabia’s Bin Salman genuinely feels wronged by Biden. He believes it is unfair that the US, which is typically favorable to dictatorships, has suddenly decided to become self-righteous in relations with him. And this is why he is lashing out via oil and China,” tweeted Sami Hamdi, a regional observer and a founder of Intlinterest.com.
But that is not the only reason. The downsizing of the US role in the Middle East has forced the Gulf countries to look to the next superpower in waiting. And China has seized the opportunity with both hands.
“China’s got a stick but it uses the economic and development-focused carrots, while the United States just brings the stick,” Jonathan Fulton, a nonresident senior fellow for Middle East Programs and the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, said in the wake of China brokering Saudi-Iran deal. “Beijing has been signaling since at least last January that it is willing to promote a non-US centered vision of the Middle East, and this is a sign of things to come.”
The Middle East Institute (MEI) has also outlined China’s advantages in the Middle East over the US. “A central characteristic of this post-Western world order is a fluid and situational web of strategic relations between global and regional powers mainly based on pragmatic rather than ideological considerations. China, unlike the United States, has established good relations with all Middle Eastern countries,” the think tank says in its latest study. “Representing the flexibility of its no-alliance diplomacy, Beijing has signed several comprehensive bilateral strategic partnerships on both sides of the Persian Gulf.”
For Arabs, China offers a more geo-economic centric relationship as against the US which is seen as preoccupied with geopolitics. In a 2022 poll conducted by the Doha-based Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies in 14 Arab countries, 78 percent of respondents believed that the biggest source of threat and instability in the region was the US. By contrast, only 57 percent thought of Iran and Russia in these terms, both of which have had their own share of dirty work in the region – from Syria to Iraq and Yemen
Another indication of the Gulf region moving away from the US is its growing “Asianization”: According to a report in the MEI, Saudi Arabia and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have drastically increased their trade with the Asia-Pacific region.
“This trade is expected to grow by about 60%, to $578 billion, by 2030,” the report states. “Moreover, Riyadh is also reportedly considering accepting the Chinese yuan rather than the U.S. dollar for oil sales to China, which led to a harsh U.S. response.”
The 10th Arab-China Business Conference once again symbolized this drift. Speaking at the conference, the kingdom’s energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said Saudi Arabia wants to collaborate, not compete, with China adding he “ignored” Western suspicions over their growing ties.
“I actually ignore it because … as a business person .. now you will go where opportunity comes your way,” the minister said when asked about the US worries about the growing Saudi-China ties. “We don’t have to be facing any choice which has to do with (saying) either with us or with the others.”
The opinions expressed are those of the author and may not reflect the editorial policy or an official position held by TRENDS.