Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Saudi Arabia this week for a pair of regional summits, as efforts to jump-start economic growth are hampered by rigorous anti-COVID-19 policies.
According to the Foreign Ministry, Xi will attend the inaugural China-Arab States Summit as well as a meeting with the leaders of the six Gulf Cooperation Council states in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. His official visit to Saudi Arabia will conclude on Saturday.
The presence of Xi at the China-Arab States Summit will be the "largest and highest-level diplomatic event between China and the Arab world since the founding of the People's Republic of China and will become an epoch-making milestone in the history of China-Arab relations," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters at a daily briefing on Wednesday.
China expects the summit would define a future agenda for bilateral ties and "help build more strategic mutual understandings on significant regional and international issues... and defend multilateralism," according to Mao.
The last was an obvious reference to China's efforts to disrupt the US-dominated international order, in which Beijing has found common cause with Russia, Iran, and other anti-US states.
Xi's tour highlights China's place as the world's second-largest economy and a key source of outside investment, which has recently been consolidated under Xi's trademark "Belt and Road Initiative" and the more recent "Global Development Initiative." These projects seek to have Chinese corporations build and finance roads, power plants, ports, and other infrastructure throughout Asia and beyond, thereby greatly expanding Beijing's influence in the developing world.
So far, they've had only limited success, with charges that many of the projects are impractical, exorbitant, and unaffordable to the majority of poor countries who are taking them on.
China imports 50% of its oil to meet its vast consumption. Saudi Arabia accounts for about half of all imports, amounting to tens of billions of dollars per year.
China's economic development had been steadily declining for years until sweeping lockdowns were enforced across the country in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Chinese economic growth returned to 3.9% year on year in the three months ended in September, up from 2.2% in the first half of the year but still falling far short of the government's target.
On Wednesday, China announced a series of measures aimed at easing some of the country's most severe anti-COVID-19 rules, including as restricting harsh lockdowns and allowing schools with no known infections to resume regular sessions.
China's governing Communist Party shares many of Saudi Arabia's and other Gulf governments' authoritarian tendencies, protecting Beijing from criticism over its harsh practices toward Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities. More than a million people have been detained, where they claim they have been compelled to disavow Islam and swear allegiance to Xi and the party.
Beijing refutes the allegations, claiming that it has been offering job training and eradicating Muslims of radical, separatist, and terroristic tendencies.
With no substantial differences on human rights, the tone of Xi's visit is "expected to be much more positive" than US President Joe Biden's visit to the kingdom earlier this year, according to the political risk consultant Eurasia Group.
"However, the relationship still has a long way to go if it is to become as deep and sophisticated as Saudi-US relationships," according to the research.
Despite Biden's prior pledges to hold Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman accountable for the execution of a U.S.-based journalist, his government concluded last month that the prince's high office should shield him from legal action for his role. On Tuesday, a federal judge in the United States dismissed the claim.
In exchange for Saudi Arabia keeping global oil markets afloat, the US military has long protected Saudi Arabia from external threats.
Xi's travel to Saudi Arabia is another step in restoring his global stature after spending the most of the outbreak inside China. This is only Xi's third trip abroad since early 2020.
It also comes amid concerns about the Chinese people's support for Xi, who has pushed down on free expression and purged political opponents. Xi was given a third five-year term as president in October, but street protests against "zero-COVID" regulations last month were the most significant public threat to his leadership and may have led certain measures to be relaxed.
Construction businesses and telecoms giant Huawei are among the Chinese enterprises that have become important players in Saudi Arabia's infrastructure overhaul. During Xi's visit, more deals are expected to be finalized, especially in the defense industry, where Saudi Arabia has showed signs of shifting away from its traditional reliance on the US.
According to Eurasia Group, "the Saudi visit will allow Xi to be the center of attention, and regional leaders will be open to the Chinese perspective." "The fact that these exchanges are taking place against the backdrop of strained relations between Mideast capitals and Washington will not be lost on Beijing."
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