Xi Jinping in Saudi Arabia as Middle East looks beyond US

Saudi Arabia backed down on calls from US President Joe Biden two months ago to increase oil production. Today, the country is hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The Chinese leader, who will be in the kingdom for several days, plans to attend a regional summit with the participation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and leaders of other Gulf countries. This was reported by the Saudi news agency on Tuesday. In addition, $30 billion worth of agreements are expected to be signed. According to some reports, the central place at the meeting will be occupied by deals in the fields of energy and infrastructure.

According to Ali Shihabi, a Saudi political scientist and member of the advisory council for the kingdom's Neom megaproject, cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia could become even stronger in the wake of this visit. This causes certain concerns on the part of the United States, which has no power to affect the strong relations between the two states.