Former senior adviser to Secretary of State Pompeo Mary Kissel reacts to Xi Jinping’s meeting with the Saudi crown prince, telling ‘Mornings with Maria’ that it is an “important strategic move by China”.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday called on leaders of major oil-producing nations to conduct oil sales using the Chinese yuan as he seeks to bolster his country’s currency.
The move echoes moves Beijing made earlier this year with Russia and not only aims to make the yuan the top international currency, but also aims to weaken the US dollar – currently valued at $0.14 to 1 Chinese yuan.
Xi addressed Gulf leaders in Saudi Arabia where Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman hosted two events with Beijing to demonstrate Riyadh’s budding relationship with China amid strained relations with the United States over security issues. human rights, energy and its relations with Russia.
In this photo made available by the Saudi Press Agency, SPA, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, right, greets Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Friday, December 21, 2019. 9, (Saudi Press Agency via AP/AP Newsroom)
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Reports first surfaced in March 2022 suggesting Saudi Arabia was advancing years-long negotiations with China that could see a shift in oil trading against the US dollar.
This move would likely be a blow to the dollar and Western markets.
Prince Mohammed reportedly championed a “historic new phase in relations with China” at the start of the summit on Friday with leaders from other Gulf, Levant and African countries.
Saudi Arabia is already China’s top supplier of crude oil, with Russia a close second, although Xi pledged on Friday to buy more oil and gas from Gulf countries.
“China will continue to import a large amount of GCC crude oil [Gulf Cooperation Council] countries, increase liquefied natural gas imports, strengthen engineering services in upstream oil and gas development, and cooperation in storage, transportation and refining,” Xi said.
In this photo released by the Xinhua News Agency, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, center right, poses for photos with Chinese President Xi Jinping, center left, and other Arab leaders of the Gulf, including the Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin (Xie Huanchi/Xinhua via AP/AP Newsroom)
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The Chinese president also said China would expand ties with Saudi Arabia and other regional states without interfering in their domestic policies – a stance Beijing has long criticized in Washington.
Xi’s proposal could prove attractive to national leaders like the crown prince who has had a rocky relationship with the United States for years, but particularly under the Biden administration.
The Chinese president also addressed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and said China is committed to establishing an independent Palestinian state based on Israel’s borders established by the UN in 1967.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022. Gulf Arab leaders and others in the Middle East will meet in Saudi Arabia within the framework (Yao Dawei/Xinhua via AP/AP Newsroom)
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“The Palestinian issue is vital for peace and stability in the Middle East,” Xi said. “The historic injustice suffered by the Palestinian people cannot last forever.
“The demand for an independent state cannot be vetoed,” he added, although notably without reference to human rights abuses against Uyghur communities on his own territory.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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