Saudi Arabia will not abandon cooperation with US in pursuit of ties with China, FM says

Saudi Arabia will not choose between ties with the United States and China and will not polarise one or the other, the kingdom’s Foreign Minister has insisted.

Following the China-Arab and China-Gulf summits held in Riyadh this week, in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan stated that the kingdom is “open to everyone” and that it believes in cooperation “with everyone” to achieve mutual interests.

“We [have] strategic partnerships with [many] countries including the US, India and China,” bin Farhan said, stressing the necessity of cooperation with the world’s second largest economy while assuring that it would not limit cooperation with the world’s largest economy.

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As President Jinping made his historic visit to the kingdom and cemented a number of deals furthering cooperation in the fields of oil, energy, and technology,  many analysts predicted or warned of China gaining ever more prominence in the Gulf and the Middle East as a whole – regions which have seen the US as the predominant hegemonic power over the past seven decades.

Those shifting power dynamics, as well as Riyadh’s general move towards non-alignment with its old ally, caused concerns amongst Washington and its policymakers that the Saudi leadership could prioritise cooperation with Beijing over Washington in the near future.

The Saudi Foreign Minister’s remarks attempt to assure that that is not the case, however. “We do not believe in polarization or selecting between one partner and another”, emphasising its policies are “based on its own interests.” He added that “the kingdom’s economy is rapidly growing, and we need all partners…We have mutual interests with [both] the US and China, and we will continue to work to achieve them.”

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