China seeks military pact with Saudi Arabia behind Biden’s back – arms sales soar by 400%

Joe Biden 'torn between forces on Saudi Arabia' says expert

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In a call between defence ministers today (Thursday), China and Saudi Arabia signalled a burgeoning military alliance. General Wei Fenghe, China’s defence minister, acknowledge Saudi Arabia’s “strong support” for Beijing on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang – a source of massive friction with the West.

The US has long courted Saudi Arabia as an ally, and has been one of its main importers of petroleum products.

However, the relationship has grown distant in recent years.

In 2018, the assassination of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi led to a rift between the two countries.

As the US stepped up production of shale oil, it has also become less reliant on Saudi oil.

In a call with Prince Khalid bin Salman, the deputy defence minister of Saudi Arabia, General Wei pledged to push for “practical cooperation [and] strengthening solidarity” between the two militaries.

South China Morning Post reports that General Wei called on the two nations to “strengthen coordination and jointly oppose hegemonic and bullying practices, to safeguard […] the interests of developing countries together.”

In response, Prince Khalid urged stronger cooperation “to enhance military ties to a higher level”.

General Wei also told Prince Khalid that China “fully respects Saudi sovereignty and firmly supports [its] development path”.

The meeting comes as China is looking to step up its diplomatic offensive in the Middle East, the South China Morning Post said.

China is reportedly seeking to use it as a new arena to wrestle global power from the US.

Earlier this month, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi hosted counterparts from Gulf states for talks.

Mr Wang urged the Gulf states to accelerate free trade talks with China.

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While meeting Prince Faisal bin Farhan al Saud, the Saudi foreign minister, Mr Wang described the two nations as “good friends, good partners and good brothers”.

Closer relations with Saudi Arabia were “a priority” for Chinese foreign policy, he added.

The US remains Saudi Arabia’s largest supplier of weapons, supplying 24 percent of its arms exports to Saudi Arabia from 2016 to 2020, according to arms research organisation Sipri.

However, that has been encroached upon in recent years.

In the same period, Chinese arms sales to Saudi Arabia rose by nearly 400 percent, South China Morning Post said.

In December, CNN released US intelligence and satellite images which purported to show that Saudi Arabia was building its own ballistic missiles with Chinese assistance.

Since taking office, Joe Biden has only spoken once with the Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, in February last year.

According to a White House statement, the US President spoke about the war in Yemen and the American commitment to help Saudi Arabia defend itself.

It added: “The President told King Salman he would work to make the bilateral relationship as strong and transparent as possible.

“The two leaders affirmed the historic nature of the relationship and agreed to work together on mutual issues of concern and interest.”

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