Will China win the Middle East? FMTNews
Just a few years ago, it would have been practically unimaginable for Saudi Arabia, America’s longtime strategic partner, to join an economic and security organisation led by China and Russia.
In 2001, the so-called Shanghai Five agreed that they should move beyond demarcation and demilitarisation of borders to deepen regional cooperation, and the SCO was born. Saudi Arabia’s move to join the SCO represents a victory for China, which has been seeking to boost its geopolitical influence and challenge the current US-led international order.
Saudi Aramco – which was already supplying more than four times as much crude to China as to the US – has now agreed to supply refineries in China with 690,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Given that China accounts for 72% of the BRICS’ total gross domestic product, the bloc – possibly in an expanded form – could well decide to start settling trade payments in renminbi.
Saudi Arabia continues to host US military bases, and last month the two countries completed their first joint counter-drone exercise at a new military testing centre in Riyadh. In the same week, two Saudi Arabian airlines announced plans to order 78 planes from US manufacturer Boeing and take options to buy 43 more.
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