Saudi Arabia’s King Comes to China

From March 15-18, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman was in China, the final leg of a larger Asia tour that also included stops in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Japan (a planned visit to the Maldives after China was scrapped due to a flu outbreak). Notably, this was the first visit to China by a Saudi monarch since 2006, when then-King Abdullah became the first Saudi head of state to make the trip. To mark the occasion, China rolled out the red carpet to greet King Salman, who was granted separate meetings with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, and Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of China’s National People's Congress and China’s third-ranking leader.

King Salman’s visit follows a spate of recent engagements between China and Saudi Arabia. Xi’s first Middle East trip, in January 2016, included a stop in Saudi Arabia, where the two sides upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Saudi Defense Minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also paid a visit to China in August 2016.

Both sides have good reasons to deepen their relationship at the moment. Riyadh is trying to hedge against fears of U.S. abandonment, which reached a boiling point after the signing of the nuclear deal with Iran, the Saudis’ arch-nemesis. The Trump administration’s “America First” policy and inflammatory remarks about Muslims have only added to Riyadh’s concerns over the relationship with its primary security partner. Boosting interactions with China is a useful back-up strategy for Riyadh, in case ties with Washington truly turn sour. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is also eager to diversify its economy away from dependence on oil exports and sees China as useful source of investment to achieve that goal.

For China, outreach to Saudi Arabia also makes good strategic sense. As an energy-hungry state, Beijing has long been eager to maintain solid ties with the Kingdom, which held the title of China’s largest oil supplier from 2000 until 2015 before narrowly losing out to Russia last year. But China increasingly sees Saudi Arabia as more than just a reliable oil source. China-Saudi Arabia bilateral trade clocked in at $42.3 billion last year, cementing Riyadh’s status as China’s largest trading partner in the region. China now seeks Saudi cooperation on Xi’s ambitious “Belt and Road” project, which aims to link East Asia with Europe through a series of infrastructure networks.

In a larger sense, Beijing is also testing the waters for a more influential role in the Middle East, and close ties with Riyadh will be a crucial part of achieving that goal. In fact, just ahead of King Salman’s visit, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi offered up China’s services as a mediator between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Speaking at his annual press conference on March 8, Wang expressed China’s hope that the two Middle Eastern rivals can solve their differences “via equal and friendly consultations.”

“China is friends with both Saudi Arabia and Iran,” Wang added. “If there is a need, China is willing to play our necessary role.”

Still, the big headline from King Salman’s visit was economic, not political. On his first day in Beijing, China and Saudi Arabia signed a flurry of deals worth $65 billion, headlined (unsurprisingly) by agreements in the petrochemical field. Other noteworthy agreements included a memorandum of understanding for Saudi Arabia to participate in China’s Chang’e-4 farside lunar landing mission and a deal on the joint manufacturing of drones, according to Reuters. The deals fit with the priorities outlined by Li, who told King Salman China was looking to expand cooperation in the energy and high-tech sectors.

As expected, King Salman’s meetings in China included numerous mentions of cooperation on the Belt and Road as well. In a written interview with Saudi Arabia’s Asharq Al-Awsat, Wang expressed China’s hope that Riyadh could become an “important hub” linking Beijing to Europe, West Asia, and Africa. China even made an extra effort to emphasize the historical Silk Road connection between China and the Arabian Peninsula by hosting an exhibit called “Roads of Arabia: Archaeological Treasures of Saudi Arabia” at the National Museum of China. The exhibition closed the day after King Salman departed Beijing.

While economics provided the headlines, there were some baby steps toward more political cooperation as well. During their meeting, Xi told King Salman that China would continue to support Saudi Arabia’s right to select its own development path (essentially, a promise not to take the Kingdom to task over human rights violations, as the United States occasionally does). Xi also promised to support Riyadh’s “efforts to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests” and help Saudi Arabia “play a bigger role in regional and global affairs.” According to Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Zhang Ming, Xi and Salman discussed the crises in both Syria and Yemen, but Zhang provided no details on the substance of those talks.

In practice, China’s close ties with Iran will necessarily complicate Chinese support for Riyadh. Iran and Saudi Arabia are diametrically opposed on nearly all regional issues. China, eager to maintain ties with both, has historically avoided becoming overly involved in regional affairs, lest it give the impression of favoring either Riyadh or Tehran. Given China’s generally cautious foreign policy approach, it’s likely little will ever come of Wang’s offer to mediate between the two Middle Eastern powers.

For his part, King Salman said Saudi Arabia hopes China will play a bigger role in Middle Eastern affairs in the future. He also spoke of Saudi Arabia’s willingness to cooperate with China against the threats of terrorism and extremism.

Despite such comments, it’s clear that China’s focus, at least, remains primarily economic. In his interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Wang emphasized China’s view that the problems in the Middle East “must be solved through [economic] development.” When it comes to political involvement, Wang stressed that China’s general policy would not change: Beijing would continue to oppose foreign intervention, prioritize the voices of regional countries, and support political solutions and dialogue to solve problems. China will not, Wang said, seek a “sphere of influence” or “pick sides” in the Middle East.  

In the end, King Salman’s visit to China didn’t provide any major developments in China-Saudi Arabia relations, aside from the historic nature of the trip itself. Rather, the announcements and discussions resulting from the King’s trip served to underscore the current state of bilateral ties: economic and especially energy-driven, with both sides actively exploring the potential for something more.