Page 11 - aruba-today-20170317

A11
WORLD NEWS Friday 17 March 2017

Saudi king’s visit highlights China’s Middle East engagement

obell, a political scientist at na hoped to present an al- all sides, despite sometimes
the RAND Corporation. ternative. conflicting geopolitical in-
Xi has signaled his desire “Instead of looking for a terests.
to play a bigger role in proxy in the Middle East, we Beijing has backed Presi-
the region as part of Chi- promote peace talks,” Xi dent Bashar al-Assad in
na’s quest for resources, said. “Instead of attempt- the Syrian conflict, while
markets and increased ing to fill the vacuum, we Saudi Arabia has insisted
global influence on a par build a cooperative part- on Assad’s ouster and has
with its economic heft. In nership network for win-win supported the Syrian op-
a major speech before the outcomes.” position, including Islamic
Arab League in Cairo last A relative newcomer to the militant groups unfriendly
year, Xi indirectly alluded Middle East’s complicated to China over Beijing’s
to how the U.S. presence politics, China has tried to sometimes harsh treatment
had waned and how Chi- maintain friendly ties with of its Muslim minority.q

Saudi King Salman, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake
hands as they attend the Road to the Arab Republic - the clos-
ing ceremony of the artifacts unearthed in Saudi Arabia at China
National Museum in Beijing, China, Thursday, March 16, 2017.
(Lintao Zhang/Pool Photo via AP)

GERRY SHIH “One Belt, One Road,” and
CHRIS BODEEN sees the desert kingdom as
Associated Press a regional linchpin.
BEIJING (AP) — Saudi Ara- In opening remarks at their
bia’s King Salman began meeting, Xi said he looked
a visit to Beijing on Thurs- forward to discussing proj-
day that highlights growing ects under development,
ties underpinned by Chi- and said results so far
na’s thirst for Saudi oil and “have surpassed our ex-
the kingdom’s status as a pectations.”
key link in Beijing’s bid to Security ties between the
connect China to Europe two have also grown sig-
through infrastructure de- nificantly, with the Saudi air
velopment. force deploying Chinese
Salman went immediately unmanned attack drones
into talks with President Xi and the two militaries hold-
Jinping following a formal ing joint counter-terrorism
welcoming ceremony at exercises in western China.
the Great Hall of the Peo- Chinese navy vessels have
ple, the seat of China’s leg- also visited the Saudi port
islature. The 81-year-old of Jeddah as part of in-
monarch’s visit is part of a creasingly active maneu-
monthlong swing through vers in the Gulf of Aden.
Asia in a push to develop a Chinese officials say their
less oil dependent growth overriding security inter-
strategy. est in the Middle East is
During Salman’s visit to To- to prevent ethnic Uighur
kyo earlier this week, the fighters who have left
Saudi sovereign wealth western China and joined
fund announced a new militant groups in Syria and
$25 billion technology fund Iraq from returning to strike
with Japanese telecom gi- at China.
ant Softbank. “China’s Uighur ethnic mi-
Beijing for its part is rolling nority is a key if sometimes
out a trade and investment under-appreciated fac-
initiative across Central Asia tor in Beijing’s Middle East
and the Middle East called strategy,” said Andrew Sc-