Published: Less than 10 min ago
Xi Jinping has a busy Friday ahead of him. During the Chinese president’s third and last day in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, two summit meetings await.
But Xi’s trip is met with American skepticism.
During the day, Xi will meet both the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and leaders from several more Arab countries.
According to state-run Chinese CCTV, Xi is looking forward to making the two summits “milestones” in the relationship between China and the Arab world. Among the participants are leaders from, among others, Egypt, Tunisia, Qatar, Lebanon and Iraq. One possible area of focus is the free trade agreement between China and the GCC countries – Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman – which has already been discussed for nearly two decades.
Xi’s visit to Saudi Arabia is his first since 2016. On Thursday, the Chinese president met King Salman and Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and announced collaborations on everything from hydrogen energy to housing construction.
The visit takes place at the same time that China is trying to expand its global sphere of interest, in particular through the giant investment “New Silk Road” through which Beijing finances infrastructure projects around the world.
However, the Gulf region – and not least Saudi Arabia – have long been strategic partners of the United States. Xi’s trip has already been criticized by Washington, which on Wednesday warned of “the influence that China is trying to cultivate around the world”.