Wu Bingbing, a professor of Middle East studies at Peking University, said the agreements signed on Tuesday “showcase the future pathways for Saudi Arabia to upgrade its industries”, and will effectively serve the country’s plan to diversify its economy.
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“Clearly now there are tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, so he (Xi) will be going there in the role of persuader”, Zhu Feng, professor at Peking University’s School of International Studies, told AFP before the visit.
Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran reached a new high this month when Riyadh and a number of its Arab allies cut diplomatic ties with Tehran. This made a poor relationship between Saudi Arabia, with a majority Sunni population, and Iran, with a majority Shiite population, worse.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has arrived in Saudi Arabia for a two-day visit as part of a Mideast tour that will include stops in Egypt and Iran. Pakistan like most Muslim countries in the Middle East faces the threat of an internal Sunni-Shia split as a result of this diplomatic row and as a result will consider that it is in its interest to stay neutral, which is what Iran would prefer.
Mr Xi arrived three days after a historic global deal lifted sanctions on Iran in return for a scaling back of its nuclear capabilities.
Asked if Saudi Arabia had discussed seeking a nuclear bomb in the event Iran managed to obtain one despite its atomic deal, he said Saudi Arabia would do “whatever we need to do in order to protect our people”.
While relying on the region for oil, China has tended to leave Middle Eastern diplomacy to the other four permanent members of the UN Security Council – the US, Britain, France and Russian Federation.
Xi, in an article published in Saudi Arabia’s al-Riyadh newspaper on Monday, praised robust bilateral economic cooperation, highlighting a light railway in Mecca built by China a year ago for providing “convenient service to Muslim pilgrims from around the globe”.
China and Saudi Arabia expressed deep concern about Syria and renewed a call for a peaceful political settlement as soon as possible.
COAS: Gen Raheel Sharif in his meetings with Defence Minister Dehghan and Secretary of National Security Shamkhani explained Pakistan’s entry into the Saudi-led 34-nation counter-terrorism alliance and clarified that it should not be interpreted as an anti-Iran measure.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayotullah Ali Khamenei has condemned the vigilantes’ attack on Saudi mission in Iran, saying the incident severely damaged the image of Islam and the Islamic Republic.
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It also pointed out how China had helped with negotiating a settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue.
