WORLD NEWS | Nearly $30bn in card deals as Xi travels to Saudi Arabia: Report

riyadh [Saudi Arabia]Dec 7 (ANI): Chinese President Xi Jinping will begin a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, state media said. official visit.

Xi and the king of Saudi Arabia plan to hold a China-Saudi summit, which will also be attended by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Xinhua reported.

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The meeting will focus on developing a strategic partnership between the two countries amid tensions with the United States.

The agenda of the Chinese President’s trip includes the China-Arab Cooperation and Development Summit and the China-Arab and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders’ meeting.

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Saudi Arabia and China also plan to sign agreements worth more than $29.3 billion to strengthen ties between the two countries, Abu Dhabi-based newspaper National News quoted state media agency SPA as saying.

The Saudi Press Agency said on Tuesday that King Salman had invited Xi “to strengthen the historic relationship and the distinguished strategic partnership that unites the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the People’s Republic of China.”

The meetings mirrored a visit to Saudi Arabia earlier this year by U.S. President Joe Biden, who met with the kingdom’s regional allies to reassure partners of U.S. commitment to the Middle East, according to National News.

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia remain mired in a bitter dispute over oil production, which in October saw the Saudi-led oil cartel OPEC+ cut output by 2 million bpd to “stabilize” prices, culminating in heated rhetoric and trade accusations.

According to CNN, the decision was made in the face of strong opposition from the United States.

Not only with Saudi Arabia, the relationship between the United States and China has also been tense. China and Saudi Arabia have also taken different positions from the West on the Ukraine war.

Neither country supports sanctions against Russia, and Riyadh has repeatedly insisted that Moscow, an important energy-producing partner, must be consulted on the OPEC+ decision, according to CNN.

Some U.S. officials have accused Saudi Arabia of siding with Russia and helping President Vladimir Putin wage war on Ukraine after the massive production cuts last month. (Arnie)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)