Saudi Arabia and China on June 11 signed 30 investment agreements totaling about $10 billion across various sectors to deepen their bilateral relations, according to the Saudi Arabian Investment Ministry.
The agreements were signed during the Arab–China Business Conference in Riyadh, which covered technology, renewables, agriculture, real estate, minerals, supply chains, tourism, and health care.
“The crown prince has continually amplified efforts to enhance the long-standing and advanced partnership between the Arab world and China in all sectors,” Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said.
Among the accords is a $5.6 billion deal between the Saudi Investment Ministry and Chinese electric car maker Human Horizons to collaborate on automotive research and manufacturing, Arab News reported.
In addition, Saudi railway company SABATCO signed a $250 million deal with Chinese state-owned rolling stock manufacturer CRRC to build “rail wagons and wheels in the kingdom,” according to the report.
Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said at the conference that his country seeks to collaborate with China in various areas rather than compete with the world’s biggest energy consumer.
In March, state oil giant Saudi Aramco announced two major deals to raise its multibillion-dollar investment in China and bolster its rank as China’s top provider of crude.
The two deals were the biggest announced since Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia in December 2022, when he called for oil trade in yuan, a move that would weaken the U.S. dollar’s dominance.
When asked about criticism of the countries’ bilateral relationship, Salman said: “I actually ignore it because ... as a business person ... now you will go where opportunity comes your way.”
US–Saudi Relations
The conference came days after a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss economic and security cooperation. Blinken said that Washington wasn’t asking Saudi Arabia to choose a side between the United States and China.“With regard to China, we’ve also been very clear we’re not asking anyone to choose between the United States and China,” Blinken said during a joint news conference with Farhan on June 8.
“We are simply trying to demonstrate the benefits of our partnership and the affirmative agenda that we bring in what we’re trying to do,” he added.
Farhan said he hoped that an agreement could be reached for the United States to aid Saudi Arabia’s bid to generate nuclear power.
U.S.–Saudi relations have deteriorated since the 2018 slaying of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S. resident, inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
They worsened after the Biden administration took office in early 2021 and released a U.S. intelligence assessment that Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman approved Khashoggi’s killing, which the crown prince denied.
The Biden administration in November 2022 suggested that Saudi Arabia’s crown prince be granted immunity from a U.S. civil lawsuit filed against him in connection with the slaying of Khashoggi.
