Gulf states cosy up to Xi amid energy- and arms-buying spree

Xi Jinping has vowed to import more oil and natural gas from Gulf Arab states while not interfering in their affairs.

Addressing Middle East leaders yesterday, Xi also urged their countries to conduct energy sales in the Chinese yuan, potentially divorcing the United States dollar from transactions in a region where the US still has thousands of troops across a network of local bases as a hedge against Iran.

During Xi’s visit to Saudi Arabia, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has welcomed him to a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and a wider summit of Middle East leaders.

China relies on the Gulf Arab states, particularly Saudi Arabia, for billions of dollars in crude oil imports to power its economy as it tries to slowly ease out of its strict anti-coronavirus policy.

Xi praised the GCC countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – as they ‘‘actively sought political solutions to regional hotspots’’. He also invited their astronauts to China’s new Tiangong space station.

He also said China planned to build a joint China-GCC Nuclear Security Demonstration Centre that would train 300 personnel in nuclear safety and technology. Already, the UAE has the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, built with South Korea under a strict agreement that it will not enrich uranium – a possible pathway to a nuclear weapon.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict also came up. Xi said China remained committed to an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 boundaries of Israel.

However, he made no mention of his nation’s harsh policies toward Uighurs and other Muslim minorities. Saudi Arabia, home to the holiest sites in Islam, also has provided political cover to China amid the crackdown.

Xi also did not mention Iran, a topic repeatedly brought up by Prince Mohammed in his remarks.

Deals have been signed between Riyadh and Beijing involving Chinese technology company Huawei, despite the US warning its Gulf Arab allies about working with Huawei over spying concerns.

Xi’s welcome from the Arab leaders is a sign to America and their own citizens that Middle Eastern states are eyeing alternatives to working within a ‘‘liberal world order’’.

Xi’s visit, part of China’s reopening after more than two years of Covid lockdown, comes at the end of a successful year selling arms and technology to the Gulf states, normally reliable purchasers of American systems.

Chinese newspapers have reported that the Saudis have bought the new TB-001 drone, which the People’s Liberation Army has been testing near Taiwan as the standoff in the South China Sea worsens.

China sold arms worth a total of US$4 billion (NZ$6.2b) last month to Saudi Arabia at the Zhuhai Airshow, the country’s main annual weapons bazaar.

The United Arab Emirates has also shifted eastwards to buy its arms. For almost a decade, it has bought Chinese attack drones, using them in Yemen and Libya.

China is a buyer of oil from Iran, Saudi Arabia’s great rival. Despite such contradictions, US intelligence notes that Beijing has developed a military facility in Abu Dhabi.