China’s president meets Saudi’s crown prince ahead of summit with Arab leaders

Xi was greeted by MbS on Thursday at Yamamah Palace, where the de facto ruler of the world’s biggest oil exporter is expected to sign around $30bn in agreements, according to Saudi state media.

The two leaders stood side-by-side as a brass band played their national anthems, then chatted as they walked into the palace, which is the king’s official residence and seat of the royal court.

After Xi’s arrival on Wednesday, with formation jets flying overhead, Saudi state media announced 34 investment agreements in sectors including green hydrogen, information technology, transport and construction.

The official Saudi Press Agency did not provide details but reported two-way trade totalled 304 billion Saudi riyals ($80bn) in 2021 and 103 billion Saudi riyals ($27bn) in the third quarter of 2022.

State broadcaster Al Ekhbariya reported another 20 agreements worth 110 billion riyals ($29.3bn) were due to be signed on Thursday.

Arab leaders also began to converge on the Saudi capital ahead of a summit with Xi, who will hold separate talks with the six-member Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) before leaving on Friday.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Tunisian President Kais Saied, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Sudan’s de facto leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan were all flying in on Thursday.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch and Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati have also confirmed their attendance.

Xi’s visit follows US President Joe Biden’s trip in July when he greeted MbS with a fist-bump at the start of a failed attempt to convince the Saudis to raise oil production.

The Saudi crown prince sees China as a critical partner in his sweeping Vision 2030 agenda and is seeking the involvement of Chinese firms in ambitious mega-projects meant to diversify the economy away from fossil fuels.

Key projects include the futuristic $500bn megacity Neom.

Saudi investment minister Khalid Al-Falih told Saudi state media this week’s visit “will contribute to raising the pace of economic and investment cooperation between the two countries”, offering Chinese companies and investors “rewarding returns”.