The value Of China Hosting Saudi King With 1,000-Strong Entourage

The  value Of China Hosting Saudi King With 1,000-Strong Entourage

BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday received the visit of the Saudi King Salman in Beijing, while China is pursuing a charm offensive towards the Middle East, where previously kept a low profile.

The three-day stay King returns the favor after Xi visited Saudi Arabia last year as part of the first state visit to the Middle East by a Chinese leader in seven years.

81 The monarch arrived Wednesday with a delegation of 1,000 people after a stop in Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia as part of an Asian tour of a month.

China is turning to the Middle East, and Saudi Arabia is strengthening its alliances in East Asia, as the general diplomatic stance of the United States under President Donald Trump remains unclear.

China depends on the volatility of the Middle East for oil supplies, but has long taken a back seat in their disputes.

But last year, Xi has taken a new approach, with steps including host talks between the conflicting parties in Syria.

China is also pressing the politics of Xi "a One Road tape signature", a strategy to increase trade ties and market for connectivity between China, Europe and the intermediate regions, loosely based on the ancient Silk Road route .

"This visit will promote and continue to improve the quality of our relationships and bring new friendzone

China has been the largest trading partner of Saudi Arabia in 2015 and the kingdom was for years the main source of crude oil for the Chinese economy, fuel starvation.

Russia last year supplanted the Saudis as the main source of oil for China, according to Chinese official statistics.

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"China will surely play an important role in the Middle East and bring their strengths in the region," he told AFP Li Guofu, a Middle East expert at the Institute of International Studies in China.

Ties between Riyadh and Washington were strained during the Obama administration.

But it is expected to improve the low Trump, the Saudis are willing to strengthen Asian ties.

"The ties of the past (China-Saudi Arabia) were good, but at least from the Saudi point of view, they can use a significant boost," said Joseph Kechichian, a member of the King Faisal Center Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh.

In an interview with the Xinhua state agency, the Saudi ambassador Turki Bin Mohamed Al-Mady stressed the potential of his country's role in the initiative "One Belt One Road".

"In terms of strategic location, Saudi Arabia acts as a central hub connecting three continents - Asia, Africa and Europe - and has been an important part of the initiative," said Al-Mady.