Riyadh, 09 Dec 2022 (Anadolu/Xinhua)

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz AlSaud and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed Thursday the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between the two countries.

Both sides reaffirmed that they will continue to firmly support each other’s core interests. Xi said on the occasion that China looks forward to working with Saudi Arabia and Arab states to turn the two summits into milestone events in the history of China-Arab relations and China-GCC relations, and bring these relations to new heights,

The Saudi Press Agency reported that King Salman received the Chinese president at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh. The meeting witnessed “a review of the historical friendship between the two countries, and ways to enhance them to serve the interests of the two countries and peoples in various fields.”

The two sides discussed “opportunities to invest the available resources in both countries, regional and international developments, issues of common interest and the efforts exerted in their regard.”

The Saudi crown prince and Chinese president witnessed the exchange of a number of bilateral agreements which includes “the harmonization plan between the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative.”

During his visit to the Kingdom, the Chinese president program include 1) China-Saudi Arabia summits, 2) China-Gulf summit, and 3) China-Arab summit. Xi’s visit comes three months after US President Joe Biden visited Riyadh amid an energy crisis caused by the Russian war on Ukraine.

Upon arriving on Wednesday evening in Riyadh on a 4-day visit to Saudi Arabia, President XI was given very warm welcome. Saudi Fighter aircrafts surrounded Chinese President aircraft on entering Saudi Arabi’s space and given 21 guns salute on landing.

China and Saudi Arabia bilateral trade by the end of 2021 was reported as $87.3 billion. Chinese exports to Saudi Arabia reached $30.3 billion, where as China’s imports from the kingdom worth $57 billion.

Qatar’s emir, Kuwait’s crown prince, the kings of Bahrain and Jordan and presidents of Egypt, Tunisia, Djibouti, Somalia and Mauritania are among rulers attending alongside leaders and prime ministers of Iraq, Morocco, Algeria, Sudan and Lebanon.

Ahead of the summits, Xi held bilateral talks with Kuwait Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal al-Sabah, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Iraqi Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani, Sudanese leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

It is expected the Chinese delegation would sign a great number of agreements and MOUs with several states in addition to Saudi Arabia.

Despite China’s stance not engaging in the region’s political issues, Beijing has shown that it seeks to step up its cooperation and arms sales with countries in the region on defense industry and technology.

According to Chinese media reports, Saudi Arabia reached an agreement to purchase arms systems worth $4 billion from China, including drones, anti-ship missiles, and anti-drone weapons and ground systems at the Juhay Air Show last month.

Riyadh had previously purchased the Chinese CH-4 armed drone and used it in operations against Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen.

With the agreement signed between the two countries in 2017, manufacturing facilities were built in Saudi Arabia to produce the platforms, with joint production kicking off this year.

Riyadh also reportedly attempted to purchase YJ-21 hypersonic missiles from China. However, since Beijing is a party to the Missile Technology Control Regime, it cannot legally export missiles with a range exceeding 300 kilometers (about 186 miles).

So, the direct sale of the high-tech YJ-21, which can hit a target up to 1,000 km away, appears to be off the table.

China first sold intermediate-range Dongfeng-3 ballistic missiles to Saudi Arabia in 1986 and it was alleged that Dongfeng-21 missiles were sold secretly in 2007. US intelligence sources have claimed that last year, China also helped Saudi Arabia develop its own missile technology.

Beijing’s next-generation FC-21 warplanes were also showcased at the World Defense Show, held for the first time this year in Saudi Arabia.

As Gulf nations continue to expand their defense budgets, they are also expected to seek to purchase fifth-generation warplanes, comparable to the F-35 fighter jets developed by multiple countries including the US.

Though Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries are still heavily dependent on US technology for their large-scale weapon systems, they are now showing a greater level of interest in China’s high-tech arms.