Biden set the tone for his strained relationship with the Saudi royal family during the 2020 presidential election contest
- Biden denounced the kingdom as a "pariah" state over its involvement in the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in 2018, although there has never been any audible distress from the Biden administration over Iran's 2007 abduction and presumed death of ex-FBI agent Robert Levinson.
- Saudi Arabia's decision to forge a strategic alliance with China is a strategic disaster of epic proportions
- Washington should strengthen its ties with long-standing allies like the Saudis to combat the mounting threat Iran poses to the region's security
Chinese President Xi Jinping
- During his state visit to Saudi Arabia, Xi held extensive talks with the Crown Prince, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, as well as other senior Saudi officials and signed a strategic partnership agreement that will deepen ties between Riyadh and Beijing on a range of issues, from defence to technology.
- One particularly eye-catching aspect of the agreement was a deal with the Chinese tech giant Huawei.
Bottom Line
- That Riyadh is now moving away from its traditional alliance with the US and strengthening its ties with Beijing is a strategic disaster of epic proportions and serves as a damning indictment of the Biden administration's careless treatment of the Saudis, for which the president is personally to blame
- Biden set the tone for his strained relationship with the Saudi royal family during the 2020 presidential election contest when he denounced the kingdom as a "pariah" state over its involvement in the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in 2018.
- Russia's invasion of Ukraine, though, forced Biden to rethink his attitude towards the Saudis when it suddenly dawned on him that he needed the Saudis to increase oil supplies to ease the pressure on global prices.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/19252/china-saudi-arabia-alliance
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