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MBS seeks Middle East leadership, independence with Xi's visit
The ruler of the oil giant has made a comeback on the world stage following the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, which cast a pall over Saudi-US ties, and has been defiant in the face of US ire over the kingdom's energy policy and pressure from Washington to help isolate Russia.
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China's President Xi Jinping (right) shakes hands with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz during a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 16, 2017. Xi welcomed visiting Saudi King Salman in Beijing as China continues a charm offensive toward the Middle East, a region where it has long kept a low profile.
(AFP/Lintao Yang)
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rown Prince Muhammad bin Salman hosts China's leader this week at a delicate moment in US-Saudi ties, signalling Riyadh's resolve to navigate a polarised global order regardless of the wishes of its Western allies, analysts said.
The ruler of the oil giant has made a comeback on the world stage following the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, which cast a pall over Saudi-US ties, and has been defiant in the face of US ire over the kingdom's energy policy and pressure from Washington to help isolate Russia.
In a show of strength as an aspiring leader of the Arab world, Prince Muhammad will also gather rulers from across the Middle East and North Africa for a Chinese-Arab summit during the visit by President Xi Jinping expected to start on Tuesday.
"Riyadh is working according to strategic calculations that it must accommodate Beijing, as it is now an indispensable economic partner," said Ayham Kamel, head of Middle East and North Africa at Eurasia Group.
Though the United States remains partner of choice for Gulf states reliant on it for their security, Riyadh is charting a foreign policy that serves its national economic transformation as the world pivots away from hydrocarbons, Saudi's lifeblood, the analysts said.
"There is certainly a risk that expanding relations with China backfires and lead to a (further) split in the US-Saudi relationship... but MBS is certainly not pursuing this out of spite," Kamel said.
Xi's visit comes at a time when US-Saudi ties are at a nadir, uncertainty weighs on global energy markets with the West imposing a price cap on Russian oil and as Washington warily eyes China's growing influence in the Middle East.
