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Lead Federalist contributor Helen Raleigh joins Varney and Co. to talk about his editorial on the protests in China and how they are problematic for Xi Jinping and an imaginable partnership between China and Russia.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to Saudi Arabia this week for meetings in which tens of billions of dollars can be invested in the country.
“I would say this is a big turning point,” Dr. Theodore Karasik, head of Russia and Middle East affairs at the Jamestown Foundation, told FOX Business. “It’s a turning point for the region in terms of Chinese presence, and it means Beijing is no longer a competitor for them. “
“Because of the conversion of the security environment and the direction the geoeconomy is taking, the logical selection for the Saudis is to move east,” he added.
Xi will arrive in Saudi Arabia on Thursday to kick off 3 days of meetings between the leaders of the two nations, aiming to strengthen an already promising partnership between Beijing and Riyadh: China has been at the forefront of Saudi Arabia’s exports and imports since 2018, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, invites Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to see an honor guard at a welcoming rite inside the Great Hall of the People on March 16, 2017, in Beijing. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images/Getty Images)
This comes as U. S. -Saudi relations remain strained after the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, which allegedly occurred with the direct approval of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who covered up all U. S. -Saudi interactions over the following years.
Biden’s recent visit to Riyadh over the summer did not appear to produce the kind of progress the United States desired. Later reports indicated that the prince was not impressed with the president.
Biden also expressed considerations that Saudi Arabia’s timeline appears to align more with Russia’s than the U. S. U. S. Washington and Riyadh have squabbled over oil production as fuel costs have risen in the wake of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and OPEC has refused to do so. opposed to his plan to cut oil. production in the coming months.
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Gordon Chang, a China expert and senior fellow at the Gladstone Institute, argued that Biden’s pursuit of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran, which would bring the country billions of dollars in a new budget, is something that would complicate Saudi Arabia’s life. . .
“Biden’s Middle East policy has shifted toward Iran, so Tehran’s enemy, Saudi Arabia, is furious with Washington,” Chang told FOX Business. “As a result, the circle of Saudi royal relatives is more open to running with China. “
“It’s no wonder the region is moving away from Washington,” he continued. “On January 20, 2021, the United States went from the most productive and most successful policy in the Middle East to what turns out to be the worst. “
President Biden, left, is greeted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Al-Salam Royal Palace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 15, 2022. (Royal Court of Saudi Arabia/Brochure/Anadolu Agency Getty Images/Getty Images)
“We cannot think that there will be no destructive consequences. Among other things, we are wasting friends in Riyadh and in the capitals of the Gulf Cooperation Council. “
And it’s possible Xi will further widen that hole as the crown prince seeks to invest more in China. Former President Donald Trump in 2017 brought some $100 billion in contracts for the U. S. military industry. But the kingdom has already established far more impressive contracts than those with China, such as the $500 billion NEOM zone project.
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“After two years of Biden’s policy toward Saudi Arabia, between pariahs and coups, it is understandable that the Kingdom is wary of an over-reliance on Washington in those days,” said Victoria Coates, a senior fellow at the Margaret Thatcher Centre for Freedom and a former MP. National Security Advisor for Middle East and North African Affairs. told FOX Business. ” China is Saudi Arabia’s biggest customer, so it’s no wonder they know each other. “
Coates, who sits on the Vandenberg Coalition’s Advisory Board, continued, “Anyone who recognizes the critical importance of the U. S. -Saudi alliance for many decades will have to send transparent signals that the United States is not leaving the Gulf,” he said. they have no objection to Saudi Arabia selling oil to China, the United States will have to remain the spouse of choice when it comes to generation and security, and opening those sectors to the People’s Republic of China is the only thing that can shake the foundations of our marriage. . “
President Joe Biden, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands before their assembly on the sidelines of the G-20 summit, Nov. 14, 2022, in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon/AP Newsroom)
A U. S. State Department spokesperson The U. S. government told FOX Business that it will forward the main points of the visit to China’s Foreign Ministry, to which a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman did not comment at a press conference on Tuesday.
The State Department spokesman under pressure from Biden’s management has “systematically” argued that the United States has never asked for countries “between the United States and the People’s Republic of China” or “any other country. “
“Our purpose is to give countries around the world a selection and make the U. S. national team and what we bring to the table the maximum option available,” the spokesman said. “The United States remains deeply committed to security in the Middle East. “, and our comparative merit in building coalitions, partnerships, and integrating defensive structures is unmatched. “
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The crown prince has focused on diversifying his kingdom’s economic interests as the world moves away from oil and gas, with some countries already banning gas-powered car production for the next 20 years.
The Saudi news firm reported that aspects meetings at the Saudi-China summit could result in more than 20 deals worth SAR 110 billion, or about $29 billion, in addition to new strategic partnership agreements between the two countries.
But the main final points of those agreements, and the commitments that are eventually made, will involve how aligned the two nations are with their goals, according to Karasik.
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“From the U. S. point of view, the most productive end results would be if some of those contracts remain memoranda of understanding or indifference, the other three summits show a lack of unified position between the Gulf express states and Asia,” Karasik said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia responded to a request for comment from FOX Business at press time.
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