Strengthening Saudi-China ties
THE ongoing official visit of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to China is a sign of the growing importance of our relations with that Asian powerhouse. The Kingdom is already the largest provider of crude oil to the booming Chinese economy. China imports about 1.07 million barrels of oil a day from Saudi Arabia, or about 14 percent of China’s oil imports, according to Bloomberg News.
Prince Mohammad’s visit aims to strengthen and expand our relations with the Chinese. Saudi Aramco already holds 22.5 percent shares of an oil refining and fuel marketing company in Fujian, while Saudi Basic Industries has 50 percent stakes in a polycarbonate complex in Tianjin. Sinopec Group’s China Petroleum & Chemical holds a 37.5 percent share in a Yanbu refinery.
Several agreements for cooperation in the fields of science, education and technology will be signed during deputy crown prince’s visit to Beijing. In addition, memorandums of understanding to increase cooperation in the areas of power and oil storage will also be signed.
According to political observers, the strategic relations between the Kingdom and China are bound to deepen through the signing of important agreements recently announced by the Council of Ministers. These agreements mark a qualitative transformation of investments in the Kingdom, as enshrined in Vision 2030.
Observers also say that the Chinese business and the public sector are keen on Prince Mohammed’s visit, during which several meetings of different levels will be held and mutually beneficial agreements that will strengthen relations between China and the Kingdom will be signed.
Recently the relations between the two countries have become more nuanced, assuming politico-strategic dimensions. Earlier their ties were limited to commerce.
The relations between the two countries were given further boost by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the Kingdom earlier this year.
The visit of the deputy crown prince is proof of the growing relations between the two countries, which are no longer limited to trade. The Kingdom has given Chinese investors special privileges, including excluding them from the classification of contractors and facilitating their entry into the Kingdom. For too long we as a nation have looked to Europe and the United States as our main business partners. Thankfully this has begun to change with the emergence of India and China as economic and technological powers. We have realized that we need to diversify our investments and export markets in the field of crude oil and petrochemicals. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman will also be presenting the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic reform program at the G20 meeting in China in early September. As part of this revolutionary vision is the partial privatization of Saudi Aramco, in which 5 percent of the company will be opened up for foreign investment. Already, the Kingdom has identified the Sinopec Group, which is the world’s largest refiner, as a strategic investor in Saudi Aramco. To further strengthen our diversification drive, our government should send more Saudi students on scholarships to study in China, India and Japan. This would help immensely in consolidating ties between our people and the nationals and institutions of those nations. Learning how to speak fluently in Cantonese and Japanese can only be a good thing for Saudi youth, helping make inroads in those countries in business, education and culture. For too long we have looked to the West as being the promised land of all solutions to the problems we may have. It is now time to also look eastward and take the best that India, China and Japan have to offer. China and India have developed into economic powerhouses that lead the world in many areas. Fifty years ago this certainly was not the case, but India has left behind its state-controlled economy, and China has become a capitalistic powerhouse. Now more than ever, the Kingdom needs to develop and nurture new alliances. We will certainly not throw out our alliance with the United States, but in these days of constant criticisms and attacks in the western press and certain sectors of their governments, having new allies is not only the smart thing to do, it’s the right thing too. Not relying too much on one ally is always a healthy thing, and in that vein no country can ever have too many allies.