RIYADH (Reuters) – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has expressed its intention to pursue cooperation rather than competition with China, according to the country’s energy minister, who has criticized the deepening ties between the two countries in the West. Doubts cleared.
As the world’s largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia’s relationship with China revolves primarily around hydrocarbon trade. However, cooperation between Riyadh and Beijing has gone beyond energy, covering areas of security and sensitive technology, raising concerns in the US.
During the Arab-China Business Conference, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman responded to criticism of the bilateral relationship, saying, “I actually ignore it because as a businessman, now you go where you get an opportunity.” He stressed that Saudi Arabia does not see relations between China and other countries as an “either-or” choice.
Chinese industrialists and investors have gathered in Riyadh for the conference, which comes shortly after US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s visit to the region.
In March, Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil giant, announced two major deals to boost its multibillion-dollar investment in China, cementing its position as China’s top crude oil supplier. The deals, which followed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia in December, where he advocated trading oil in yuan to reduce the dominance of the U.S. dollar, reflect rising oil demand in China. Is. Prince Abdulaziz emphasized the importance of cooperating with China rather than competing against it.
The growing momentum between Saudi Arabia and China has also raised hopes for a successful conclusion to negotiations for a free trade agreement between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which have been ongoing since 2004. Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Investment Khaled Al-Falih highlighted the need to protect emerging industries in the Gulf region as it moves beyond oil to economic diversification. He expressed hope that an agreement would be reached soon, stressing the need to protect new and emerging industries during the negotiation process.
