Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman visited Beijing on Tuesday and met Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun and General Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission and China’s top military official.
The meeting signals Saudi Arabia is seeking defense cooperation from China after four disastrous years of relations with the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden.
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Saudi Arabian Press Agency Said Several other senior officials also traveled to Beijing with the defense minister to discuss strengthening ties with China and, in Prince Khalid’s words, stepping up military “cooperative efforts.”
China’s Defense Ministry released a summary of the meeting between Khalid and Dong, saying Saudi Arabia and China were ready to “elevate bilateral military ties to a higher level.”
of South China Morning Post (South Carolina State University Press) I got it. Saudi Arabia has taken several concrete steps under the Biden administration to strengthen military ties with China, its largest trading partner and biggest oil customer.
China’s state-run defense industry displayed its latest model fifth-generation FC-31 fighter jet and more than 30 unmanned aerial vehicles at the World Defense Exhibition in Riyadh in February, hoping to boost exports to the region.
The Chinese and Saudi Arabian navies also conducted joint anti-terrorism exercises in October against the backdrop of the Israel-Gaza war.
In addition to strengthening military ties, China and Saudi Arabia are deepening cooperation in a range of areas, including artificial intelligence and infrastructure.
The most dramatic display of China’s expanding influence in the Middle East came in March 2023, when Beijing announced Mediated a diplomatic rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and its biggest regional rival, Iran;
The deal deals a devastating blow to U.S. foreign policy under President Joe Biden, reversing years of efforts by former President Donald Trump to rally Arab nations against Iran’s nuclear ambitions, which now openly flouts international nuclear non-proliferation agreements and U.N. inspectors. Enrich They are enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels at a record pace.
In this photo released by the Saudi Royal Palace, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (right) welcomes U.S. President Joe Biden at Al Salam Palace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on July 15, 2022. (Bandar al-Jaroud/Saudi Royal Palace via The Associated Press)
The meeting between General Zhang and Mr. Khalid was ominous because General Zhang was China’s leading figure in strengthening military ties with Russia. visited Moscow is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in November to discuss cooperation on advanced military technologies, including space weapons. Warned Russia said in May that it “likely” had launched at least one anti-satellite weapon into the same orbit as a U.S. government satellite.
Grant Lumley, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, hopefully suggested that Khalid’s main reason for visiting Beijing was to seek China’s help in reining in the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. A growing threat The Biden administration has failed to curb shipping in the Red Sea at all.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 5, 2024. (Alexander Zholobov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via The Associated Press)
“China has influence over Iran and has largely successfully defended its interests against Houthi attacks. The Saudis seem to be hoping that China can put some pressure on the Houthis,” Ramli said. Said Al-Monitor on Tuesday.
If that was indeed Khalid’s mission in Beijing, Ramley predicted the outcome would be disappointing, since “China has consistently demonstrated that its actions in the region rarely go beyond its own interests.”
But China also wants to persuade Saudi Arabia to share defense technology and buy more Chinese hardware, the former a worrying prospect given that most of the kingdom’s military technology has historically been purchased from the United States.
Saudi Arabia in February became Saudi Arabia is the first export customer for China’s Winglong-10B high-altitude, long-endurance drone, which it unveiled at the World Defense Exhibition in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia began purchasing Chinese drone technology in 2017 and began seeking Chinese cooperation in its manufacturing activities.
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of Diplomat Predicted Saudi Arabia will use its expanding relationship with China to achieve short-term goals such as securing more investment for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s “Saudi Vision 2030” plan to wean the Saudi economy off oil dependency, while China sees a partnership with Saudi Arabia as an opportunity to build a “more multipolar world order” that would signal an end to “US hegemony” around the world.
The biggest advantage the US has left is that it has extended security guarantees to Saudi Arabia that China cannot replace, and while the Saudi economy remains intricately tied to the US dollar, Saudi Arabia has recently Threatening To break that vital but tacit agreement.
“The United States is on the verge of signing a major bilateral defense agreement with Saudi Arabia that will significantly strengthen America’s security commitment to the country. The deal is expected to include formal U.S. assurances that it will defend Saudi Arabia and give it access to the latest U.S. weaponry. In return, Saudi Arabia will halt arms purchases from China and limit Beijing’s investment in the country.” Diplomat I got it.
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said on Monday Warned With the political situation in the Middle East remaining unstable in the wake of the Gaza war, ratification of a U.S.-Saudi defense agreement is seen as “increasingly unlikely,” and U.S. Senate Democrats are likely to balk at any agreement that does not include firm support for an end to the war and the establishment of a Palestinian state.
“Many Democrats will find it difficult to ratify without a commitment to a serious peace process, and many Republicans will find it hard to accept that normalization with Israel will not happen. It will be difficult to garner the 67 votes needed,” Carnegie predicted.
The relationship between the Biden administration and Saudi Arabia is promised He intended to “outsider” Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto head of the Saudi kingdom, in the 2020 presidential election. included There were some humiliating insults against Saudi Arabia.
Biden has toned down such boasting as oil prices soar and his approval ratings plummet, but Saudi Arabia Delivered They themselves have earned themselves some ridicule. At the very least, Riyadh seems determined to keep open the option of forging closer ties with America’s geopolitical foes during the Biden administration.
