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CNN
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when Chinese leader Xi Jinping Arriving in Riyadh on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia received him with the pomp and circumstance usually set aside for the United States, the kingdom’s most strategic ally.
Four Saudi Air Force fighter jets escorted Xi’s plane after it intruded into the country’s airspace. Six of his aerobatic jets then accompanied him on the landing, trailing green smoke, according to China’s state broadcaster CCTV.
Saudi state television shows Xi descending the stairs of a presidential jet at King Khalid International Airport, where he is Riyadh Region Governor Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz and Saudi Foreign Minister He was greeted by Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah.
Purple carpets were rolled out for Chinese leaders and artillery fired.
The multi-day visit will include two conferences of Arab world leaders. Multi-billion dollar trade, economic and military agreements will be signed.
Saudi Arabia’s leaders will imbue the trip with a dose of spectacle. A traditional sword dance may be performed at a lavish reception. The Saudi King, or his mighty Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, may bestow several honors and decorations on the Chinese leader. More extravagant expressions of friendship will be included in the diplomatic formalities, with the aim of highlighting the deepening partnership between Beijing and Riyadh.
It will be reminiscent of the no-frills treatment President Donald Trump received during his visit to Riyadh in 2017.viral image of Playing cards touching glowing spheres remains a mystery).
A far cry from Xi’s red carpet welcome President Joe Biden’s trip Heading to Riyadh this summer. Smileless Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets the president with fist bumps at a televised roundtable, embarrassing the public and announcing a limited increase in oil production far below US demands did. While bin Salman mouthed the decision, Saudi state television turned to a visibly outraged Biden.
A few months later, Saudi Arabia Production of cutting oil.
In contrast to Mr. Biden’s visit, the pomp of Mr. Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia conveys an implicit message to the United States. Despite Washington’s repeated pleas to its Gulf Arab allies to reject China’s commercial carrot, relations between the region and Beijing continue to develop, making progress not only in trade but also in security. .
“The first message is that this is the new Saudi Arabia. told to
“The new reality is that China is rising, Asia is rising, and whether the United States likes it or not, China must be dealt with.”
A senior Arab diplomat told CNN earlier this week that the summit was “a milestone” in China-Arab relations. It also represents a major diplomatic victory for Muhammad bin Salman.For years he was frozen by the next West Murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi At the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018. Now, as many know, MBS will hastily convene a meeting with Xi Jinping and at least his 14 other Arab leaders.
For China, meanwhile, it’s a chance to expand its geopolitical footprint in the US’ former backyard, and Beijing needs more Saudi oil as it finally begins to ease Covid rules.
Twenty years ago, Chinese leaders were disrespectful figures in the decidedly anti-communist Saudi Arabia that shared the fate of Washington. At the time, the United States was the largest consumer of the kingdom’s oil. Today, the United States consumes only a fraction of Saudi Arabia’s oil, and China is Saudi Arabia’s largest customer and trading partner. Last year, her exports to China exceeded $50 billion, representing more than 18% of the kingdom’s total exports.
Changes in trade relations have prompted a shift in US attitudes toward its Arab allies. In 2016, when former President Barack Obama’s administration signed a landmark nuclear deal with Iran, Washington excluded Iran’s longtime enemies, regional Arab allies, from the negotiation process. America’s tolerance of the authoritarian style of governance in the Gulf states and its poor human rights record have also begun to falter. The US military presence in the region, he one of the largest in the world, has shrunk.

Increasingly, Gulf leaders have started talking publicly about the post-American Middle East. According to government officials, the Gulf states will have to make their way without the United States, the main security guarantor. Regardless, it appeared to spark a wave of Trump-backed relations normalization with Israel, known as the Abraham Accords. completely recovered.
Gulf Arab countries appear to have stepped up their pro-independence policies in the last year. They have been in step with US foreign policy for decades, but have recently derailed. Gulf leaders have made clear their growing ties with Russia remain intact even after Russia launched a war with Ukraine earlier this year, thwarting international efforts to isolate Moscow. . Gulf leaders appeared to be in collusion with Russian President Vladimir Putin. oil policy.
As for China, the Gulf countries have ignored numerous warnings from Beijing and the US about expanding partnerships with Chinese companies. Last year, officials in the emirate accused the United States of “bullying” them into shutting down Chinese facilities on emirate territory. When Abu Dhabi threatened to withdraw its landmark deal to sell F-35 fighter jets to the UAE over its 5G contract, Abu Dhabi stuck to the deal.
Relations with China are also progressing militarily, much to the chagrin of the United States.
“Saudi Arabia is, of course, not indifferent to the United States, which remains an important partner. analyst Ali Shihabi said.
“The kingdom must deal with that reality and develop multiple important relationships in an increasingly multipolar world. This is a process that began years ago and cannot be undone.”
“(President Xi’s) visit will be an official visit to mark this expanding relationship with China,” he added.

When Trump visited Riyadh in 2017, it was his first overseas visit as president. He seemed to suggest a U-turn from the Obama administration’s withdrawal from the region. America again ran squarely into the corner of the Gulf Arab, who embraced him with open arms. It set the tone for strained relations between Riyadh and the Trump administration.
Trump’s support for the young prince was unwavering as MBS cracked down on dissent, culminating in Khashoggi’s murder.
Trump has also, at least in part, done so by withdrawing from Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran and unleashing a torrent of sanctions against Tehran, despite Tehran sticking to its side of the deal, thereby threatening the kingdom. It appeared to be bidding.
But then in 2019, missiles fired by Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi rebels rained down on Saudi Arabia’s Abqaiq and Khurais oil processing facilities, wiping out nearly half of the kingdom’s oil production.
The Trump administration turned to the aid of allies, and the Gulf Arab nations saw what was written on the wall: Regional security can no longer be outsourced to the United States, regardless of who sits in the Oval Office. .
As President Xi Jinping prepares to land, Abdullah of the United Arab Emirates said: If you don’t understand this, it may be time to break up gradually and slowly. The ball is on Washington’s court.”