Tag: Saudi Arabia

China’s Role in Iran-Saudi Deal Shows Xi’s Challenge to U.S.-led Order

Chin@Strategy

When Beijing stepped into the role of mediator this week in the surprise rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, it signaled a new level of ambition for Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, who has sought to burnish his image as a global statesman in an escalating rivalry with the United States. China’s top diplomat quickly attributed the success of four days of secret talks in reviving diplomatic ties between the two archrivals to Mr. Xi’s leadership, which he said demonstrated “the bearing of a great power.” By taking credit for…

Iran-Saudi Pact Is Brokered by China, Leaving U.S. on Sidelines

Chin@Strategy

Saudi Arabia had sought a suspension of hostilities with Iran for years, first through talks held in Baghdad that eventually went nowhere. Biden administration officials said the Saudis briefed them about the discussions in Beijing, but the Americans expressed skepticism that Iran will live up to its new commitments. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia who had strong ties with former President Donald J. Trump and has helped secure $2 billion in financing for the investment firm set up by Jared Kushner, the former…

What to Know About the Iranian-Saudi Deal

Chin@Strategy

The announcement by Iran and Saudi Arabia that they are re-establishing diplomatic ties could lead to a major realignment in the Middle East. It also represents a geopolitical challenge for the United States and a victory for China, which brokered the talks between the two longstanding rivals. Under the agreement announced on Friday, Iran and Saudi Arabia will patch up a seven-year split by reviving a security cooperation pact, reopening embassies in each other’s countries within two months, and resuming trade, investment and cultural accords. But the rivalry between the…

Iran and Saudi Arabia agree to restore ties after China-brokered talks

Chin@Strategy

Embassies to reopen in move that could have wide implications for Iran nuclear deal and Yemen war Iran and Saudi Arabia, the two great oil-producing rivals of the Middle East, have agreed to restore ties and reopen embassies seven years after relations were severed. The agreement came after Chinese-brokered talks held in Beijing. “As a result of the talks, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies … within two months,” Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported, citing a joint statement. Continue reading… The Guardian

UK to downgrade commitment to human rights for close diplomatic ties

Chin@Strategy

The UK will target a group of about two dozen middle-level countries for long-term diplomatic partnerships in what marks a downgrade of a commitment to human rights as a prerequisite for close relations with the UK. The new policy being outlined in a speech by the foreign secretary, James Cleverly, is an attempt to set realistic ambitions and criteria for Britain’s future relations post-Brexit. It is an implicit admission that the phrase “global Britain”, coined by Boris Johnson, may have set expectations that British diplomatic resources and status cannot match.…

China to Cooperate With Gulf Nations on Nuclear Energy and Space, Xi Says

Chin@Strategy

China plans to cooperate with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries in the fields of nuclear energy, nuclear security and space exploration, President Xi Jinping said on Friday, showcasing his nation’s strengthening ties with a region that was once firmly in the U.S. sphere of influence. Mr. Xi was speaking in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, at a summit with rulers and officials from the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates — during a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia. Later…

Chasing the U.S., China’s Leader Emerges From Diplomatic Isolation

Chin@Strategy

He met with Saudi Arabia’s king and the leaders of Egypt, Tunisia, Kuwait and Sudan. He pledged to expand ports along the Red Sea, invest in petrochemicals and usher in a wave of Chinese tourism. After years of alienating other countries with his foreign ministry’s abrasive style of diplomacy and then retreating into semi-isolation for most of the pandemic, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, is returning to the global stage to repair China’s position and catch up to the United States, which Beijing sees as having emerged stronger from the Covid…

China and Saudi Arabia Sign Strategic Partnership as Xi Visits Kingdom

Chin@Strategy

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia and China signed a strategic partnership agreement on Thursday during a visit by the Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the kingdom, underlining the growing ties between Beijing and a longstanding American ally. Mr. Xi held talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the prime minister and de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, on Thursday in the first of a series of summits planned for the Chinese president’s three-day visit. After his bilateral meetings with Saudi officials, Mr. Xi is expected to attend twin summits…

Saudi Arabia readies full state pageantry for Xi Jinping visit

Chin@Strategy

Xi Jinping will arrive in Riyadh on Wednesday on a long awaited visit to a regional ally that has readied full state pageantry and a round of agreements likely to cement ties between China and Saudi Arabia – and deepen alarm in Washington. China’s president will meet more than 30 heads of state and business leaders during his three-day visit to the Saudi capital, which is set to lead to a “strategic agreement” between the authoritarian powers. The trip is the culmination of decades of cooperation once based on oil…

Xi Jinping of China to Visit Saudi Arabia for Regional Summits

Chin@Strategy

China’s leader will travel to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for a flurry of summits bringing together heads of state from across the Middle East, a region where longtime American allies are growing increasingly closer to China. The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, will visit the kingdom for three days and attend Saudi-China, Gulf-China and Arab-China summits, the Saudi state news agency reported on Tuesday. More than 30 heads of states and leaders of international organizations plan to attend, the report said, adding that Saudi Arabia and China were expected to sign…