China and Saudi Arabia to deepen cooperation with crown prince visit
- On the final stop of his regional tour Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping
- Visit seeks to deepen cooperation on ‘Belt and Road Initiative’
Saudi Arabia’s bid for closer ties with China through the state visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman later this week could be met with a careful approach from Beijing, given the respective geopolitical challenges faced by the two states, experts said.
The kingdom’s de facto leader will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on his visit to Beijing on Thursday and Friday in the final stop on his Asia tour which began on Sunday in Pakistan. The crown prince will also visit India but his original stopovers at Malaysia and Indonesia were postponed.
The state visit to Beijing will seek to “promote the greater development of Sino-Saudi relations” and “deepen cooperation” on China’s “Belt and Road Initiative”, according to foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang.
Late last year the crown prince was accused of involvement in the murder in Turkey of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a charge which has put Saudi Arabia under pressure from Western nations.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Pakistan for start of shortened Asia tour
China has given its support to the kingdom in the wake of the Khashoggi killing based on its willingness to develop closer economic relations. However, Beijing could be more concerned about regional diplomacy among the Gulf states as it develops a closer relationship with Saudi Arabia.