Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday touted close security and energy ties with Gulf nations during summit meetings in Saudi Arabia that have highlighted tensions with Washington.
On the third and final day of his visit, Xi attended summits of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council and a broader China-Arab leaders' meeting.The discussions came one day after bilateral sit-downs with Saudi royals yielded a joint statement stressing "the importance of stability" in oil markets -- a point of friction with the United States. Washington has urged the Saudis to raise production.
Oil from Saudi Arabia alone accounted for 17 percent of China's imports last year, and last month Qatar announced a 27-year natural gas deal with China. However, few details were released despite a Saudi state media report on Thursday that about $30 billion in deals would be signed during Xi's visit. It follows US President Joe Biden's trip to Jeddah in July, before midterm elections, when he failed to persuade the Saudis to pump more oil to calm prices.Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's 37-year-old de facto ruler, addressed both summits on Friday, promising "continuing Arab-Chinese cooperation to serve our common goals and aspirations of our peoples".
Officials provided few details about the agenda for Friday's talks, but one potential area of focus was a China-GCC free trade agreement under discussion for nearly two decades. A breakthrough on the trade pact could help Saudi Arabia, the Middle East's biggest economy, diversify its economy in line with the Vision 2030 reform agenda championed by Prince Mohammed.
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