KSA ties to the US, China are not mutually exclusive: Saudi official
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Adel Al-Jubeir stresses that the Kingdom plans to deepen ties with the United States and China.
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KSA's ties to the US, and China are not mutually exclusive. (CNBC)
Saudi Arabia's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir told CNBC that the kingdom will continue to deepen ties with both the United States and China, as President Joe Biden paid a keenly watched official visit to the nation.
“We build bridges with people; we don’t see one as exclusive of the other,” Al-Jubeir told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble in Jeddah.
“We want to be able to deal with everybody and we want to be able to engage with everybody. This is what we have done,” said the Saudi official, who was recently appointed as envoy for climate affairs.
“China is our largest trading partner. It’s a huge market for energy and a huge market in the future. And China is a big investor in Saudi Arabia — the United States is, of course, our number one partner when it comes to security and political coordination, as well as investments and trade between the two countries.”
Read next: Biden to avoid handshaking MBS during West Asia trip
The discussion took place against the backdrop of Biden's much-publicized — and much-panned — first trip to the Middle East since becoming an office. The president was on a mission to repair ties with Saudi Arabia, a long-standing strategic partner and a country he has long chastised for human rights violations.
Biden this week praised Washington's long-held relationship with the kingdom and went to lengths to explain why it was vital for US interests, despite painfully high gas prices for American consumers, a food and energy crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine, and a desire to bring the Saudis and "Israel" closer together.
These interests include regional peace and security, counterterrorism, a united front in dealing with Iran, a ceasefire in Yemen, and oil market stabilization, the president wrote in a Washington Post op-ed last week. Saudi Arabia is also Washington's largest buyer of arms.
#JoeBiden has long been championing punishing #SaudiArabia over the assassination of #Saudi journalist #JamalKhashoggi and #Riyadh's grave human rights violations, but it seems that the Kingdom's "pariah" status will have to wait, for the #US needs oil and energy. pic.twitter.com/SMsgIrX81z
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 3, 2022
US President Joe Biden has long been championing punishing Saudi Arabia over the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and Riyadh's grave human rights violations, but it seems that the Kingdom's "pariah" status will have to wait, for the US needs oil and energy.
US President Joe Biden bumped fists on Friday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman upon landing in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on the second leg of his visit to West Asia.
The manner of greeting and body language often indicates how statesmen feel about one another, but the Biden team claimed close contact will be restricted for the US president due to the possibility of contracting coronavirus.
