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China's Xi offers support for Saudi amid regional uncertainty

 

China's President Xi Jinping listens to Vietnam's Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (not pictured) during a meeting at Central Office of the Communist Party of Vietnam in Hanoi, Vietnam, November 12, 2017. REUTERS/Luong Thai Linh/Pool

 

BEIJING (Reuters) - China supports Saudi Arabia's efforts to safeguard national sovereignty and achieve greater development, President Xi Jinping told Saudi Arabia's King Salman, at a time of regional tensions between Saudi Arabia, Iran, Lebanon and Yemen.

 

China has traditionally played little role in Middle East conflicts or diplomacy, despite its reliance on the region for oil. But it has been trying to raise its profile, with Salman visiting China in March.

 

Speaking by telephone, Xi told Salman that China's determination to deepen strategic cooperation with Saudi Arabia will not waver, no matter how the international and regional situation changes, China's Foreign Ministry said late on Thursday.

 

Remarking on the importance of maintaining close communication between the two countries' heads of state, Xi said China and Saudi Arabia are comprehensive strategic partners whose strategic mutual trust is deepening.

 

"China supports Saudi Arabia's efforts to safeguard national sovereignty and realise greater development," the ministry cited Xi as saying, without elaborating.

 

The statement made no specific mention of issues like the resignation as Lebanon Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri while in Saudi Arabia, railing against Riyadh's bitter foe Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.

 

Saudi-led forces, which back the government in Yemen, have also been targeting the Iran-allied Houthis in a more than two-year war there.

 

China has had to tread a fine line between Riyadh and Tehran as Beijing has close ties with Iran as well.

 

The ministry statement said Xi and Salman also exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern, but gave no details.

 

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Michael Perry)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters China's Xi offers support for Saudi amid regional uncertainty

 

[Srikcir]

No doubt the Kingdom of China has great respect for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

One absolute ruler to another.

But frankly, the S.A. doesn't need China.

 

[craigt3365]

8 hours ago, Srikcir said:

No doubt the Kingdom of China has great respect for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

One absolute ruler to another.

But frankly, the S.A. doesn't need China.

 

Isn't China also close to Iran?

[Srikcir]

5 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Isn't China also close to Iran?

Probably closer than China to Thailand.

Iran falls along China's "One Belt, One Road" project. For China’s Global Ambitions, ‘Iran Is at the Center of Everything’

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/25/world/middleeast/iran-china-business-ties.html

A Chinese state-owned investment firm has provided a total of $35 billion credit line for Iranian banks to fund water, energy and transport projects towards that the Chinese economic highway.

https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/9/16/china-provides-10-billion-credit-line-to-iran 

 

[ExpatOilWorker]

Maybe China wants to rule Saudi, just as they might have a installed their little puppet in Zimbabwe.

Maybe China have a plan after all with their military base in Djibouti.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/16/zimbabwe-army-chief-trip-china-last-week-questions-coup

Edited November 18, 2017 by ExpatOilWorker

[boomerangutang]

Interesting.  Up until now, China has stayed low-key about internecine M.East hassles.

 

Now that the US is losing its influence on micro-managing M.East problems, China is feeling emboldened - and filling the void.   Trump is easily manipulated (by such things as flatter and facilitating biz deals).  He's assigning himself to the periphery by his stupidity (am I waxing poetic?) 

 

In steps big Xi.   

[craigt3365]

2 minutes ago, boomerangutang said:

Interesting.  Up until now, China has stayed low-key about internecine M.East hassles.

 

Now that the US is losing its influence on micro-managing M.East problems, China is feeling emboldened - and filling the void.   Trump is easily manipulated (by such things as flatter and facilitating biz deals).  He's assigning himself to the periphery by his stupidity (am I waxing poetic?) 

 

In steps big Xi.   

I would think corrupt countries like SA and Iran would much rather do business with China than the US or the West.  Those in power get richer.  No questions asked. Sadly, the people are the ones who will suffer.

[boomerangutang]

One thing that few people know.  I would venture that even Yemenis don't know this:   Yemen was a crucial stepping stone for African hominids coming out of Africa - and spreading out to all habitable regions.   Probably the same for other species.

 

I've heard that, on a clear day, a person can stand on the shore at a region of NE African continent, and see indications of land - across the Red Sea, at Yemen.   

 

Here's a suggestion to some folks in the Yemeni tourist biz (if such people exist) :  set up touristy boat trips which go back and forth across that body of water.  ....to enable tourists to experience a bit of that profoundly historic journey that our long-ago ancestors made - probably in reed boats.  

[boomerangutang]

4 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

I would think corrupt countries like SA and Iran would much rather do business with China than the US or the West.  Those in power get richer.  No questions asked. Sadly, the people are the ones who will suffer.

I agree. However, with Trumpsters in the Oval Office, the US side is more corrupt than in past years.   For example, Kushner appears to be attempting multiple manipulations re; countries in the M.East - trying to get big loans to resuscitate his problematic business deals in the US.  Everything Trump and Kushner do, over there, appears shrouded in shadows and involves lots of money. 

 

It's no mystery why both the US and China cozy up to Saudi Arabia.  The Saudis have more money than the other players.  

[craigt3365]

21 minutes ago, boomerangutang said:

I agree. However, with Trumpsters in the Oval Office, the US side is more corrupt than in past years.   For example, Kushner appears to be attempting multiple manipulations re; countries in the M.East - trying to get big loans to resuscitate his problematic business deals in the US.  Everything Trump and Kushner do, over there, appears shrouded in shadows and involves lots of money. 

 

It's no mystery why both the US and China cozy up to Saudi Arabia.  The Saudis have more money than the other players.  

It's not just the US and China.  UK, France, Russia, etc, are all doing big business with SA.  Hypocrisy at it's worst.

[Srikcir]

20 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

Maybe China have a plan after all with their military base in Djibouti.

"Keep up with the Jones" and counterbalance significant Western presence?

Djibouti is also home for American, French, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese (Western in terms of democracy) outposts.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-braude/why-china-and-saudi-arabi_b_12194702.html

Djibouti's key natural resource export is salt and perlite.

https://www.azomining.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=205

The nation is best located for sea and continental access than for its resources.

[zydeco]

2 hours ago, boomerangutang said:

One thing that few people know.  I would venture that even Yemenis don't know this:   Yemen was a crucial stepping stone for African hominids coming out of Africa - and spreading out to all habitable regions.   Probably the same for other species.

 

I've heard that, on a clear day, a person can stand on the shore at a region of NE African continent, and see indications of land - across the Red Sea, at Yemen.   

 

Here's a suggestion to some folks in the Yemeni tourist biz (if such people exist) :  set up touristy boat trips which go back and forth across that body of water.  ....to enable tourists to experience a bit of that profoundly historic journey that our long-ago ancestors made - probably in reed boats.  

What does this post have to do with anything? 

[zydeco]

4 hours ago, boomerangutang said:

Interesting.  Up until now, China has stayed low-key about internecine M.East hassles.

 

Now that the US is losing its influence on micro-managing M.East problems, China is feeling emboldened - and filling the void.   Trump is easily manipulated (by such things as flatter and facilitating biz deals).  He's assigning himself to the periphery by his stupidity (am I waxing poetic?) 

 

In steps big Xi.   

The only problem with this is that China is in a position that it must choose: Iran or Saudi Arabia.  The US already has a confirmed ally, Saudi Arabia, and a confirmed enemy, Iran. And if anything, Trump has reinforced the US position, because Obama had the US beginning to tilt towards Iran. But it's China who is stuck. Going to alienate Iran or make inroads with Saudi Arabia.  Either way, China loses. 

[Srikcir]

49 minutes ago, zydeco said:

But it's China who is stuck.

Indeed.

Between Sunni S.A. and Shia Iran - religious opposite poles that communist China has little political experience.

52 minutes ago, zydeco said:

Trump has reinforced the US position, because Obama had the US beginning to tilt towards Iran.

Trump's alignment with S.A was purely one consistent with his base by opposition to everything Iranian. I don't think it was a politically thought out policy.

On the other hand, Obama's so-called "tilt" was a political strategy to re-engage the Iranian government with Western nations that could moderate its regional hostilities with desperately needed economic trade. This was the underlying motivation for Iran to agree to the G8 nuclear deal.