Xi’s visit lays end to Saudi Arabia’s ‘monogamous marriage’
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Salma Hossein
- . December 10, 2022
- . Update: December 10, 2022 10:03 pm
The United States is not asking Saudi Arabia to choose between Washington and Beijing, but it does see Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the country as an attempt to exert influence in the region.
The comments came at two separate briefings this week at the White House and the State Department as Mr Xi completed his two-day visit to Saudi Arabia.
”It’s certainly not a surprise that President Xi is travelling around,” John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, told reporters on Wednesday. “We are mindful of the influence that China is trying to grow around the world.”
The State Department, however, was more elaborate. “We are not asking countries to choose between the United States and the People’s Republic of China,” said the department’s spokesperson Ned Price when asked to comment on the visit.
“Our goal is to give countries the most attractive choice and to make the United States the most attractive choice in terms of what we bring to the table.”
Read | Xi to Visit Saudi Arabia — China’s Growing Middle East Ties
Mr Price focused particularly on America’s defence ties with various Middle East countries, adding that no country could match America in the region “when it comes … integrating the defensive capabilities that are so important, so vital to many of our partners across the Middle East”.
The American media, however, underlined Riyadh’s desire to reduce its dependence on Washington while reporting about Mr Xi’s visit, and the warm welcome he received in Saudi Arabia.
In an analytical piece on the visit, the Foreign Policy magazine referred to a 2004 interview then-Saudi foreign minister Saud al Faisal gave to a former Washington Post journalist, David Ottaway.
In that interview, Mr Faisal said the US-Saudi relationship wasn’t a “Catholic marriage” where only one wife was allowed; it was a “Muslim marriage” where four wives were permitted. “Saudi Arabia is not seeking divorce from the United States; it is just seeking marriage with other countries,” Mr Ottaway wrote.
The Wall Street Journal noted that the visit allowed the world’s top oil importer to “deepen (its) relations with the top exporter.”
The report pointed out that Xi Jinping and King Salman signed a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement affording Riyadh top-tier status in China’s foreign relations. The two leaders also pledged to visit each other every two years.
