Chinese President Xi Jinping pledges to back further efforts to mend relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran
- Xi tells Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that Beijing will work to promote peace and stability in the Middle East
- Earlier this month China brokered an agreement between the two countries to normalise diplomatic relations after years of tensions
Xi told the prince, who is also the country’s prime minister, that relations between Beijing and Riyadh were in their “best period in history” and said China would work to promote “peace, stability and development” in the Middle East.
03:11
China, Iran pledge to deepen cooperation as both grapple with strained US ties
China’s state news agency Xinhua reported that Xi told the prince: “China is ready to continue to support the follow-up process of the Saudi-Iranian dialogue.
“I hope that the Saudi and Iranian sides will uphold the spirit of good neighbourliness and continue to improve relations on the basis of the outcome of the dialogue in Beijing.”
Xi also sent Ramadan greetings to King Salman during the phone call.
Prince Mohammed expressed Saudi Arabia’s appreciation for the Chinese initiative, according to the Saudi Press Agency, which also reported that the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers were planning to meet during the Islamic holy month.
China’s influence in Saudi Arabia has been steadily growing and Xi visited the country late last year for summits with the Arab League and Gulf Cooperation Council.
China has been Saudi Arabia’s biggest trading partner since 2018, overtaking the European Union, and trade between the two countries reached US$87.3 billion last year, according to the Chinese embassy in Riyadh.
Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco, a state-owned energy company, has signed a US$10 billion deal to build a state-of-the-art refining complex in the northeastern Chinese province of Liaoning.
