Eviralnews,, during a trip to the Persian Gulf region in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang discussed and exchanged opinions with the heads of the UAE and Saudi Arabia about the latest state of bilateral relations. The Chinese Prime Minister, who is referred to as the number two man in Beijing and has a high position according to the Chinese political system, first arrived in Abu Dhabi. It is no secret that the UAE is the most important trade partner of China among the Arab countries, and the most important evidence for this claim is the volume of economic and trade relations between the two countries.
The volume of trade between China and the UAE in 2022 amounted to 81 billion dollars, which is the highest figure among Arab countries. The volume of UAE investments in China's economic sectors such as communications, infrastructure and tourism amounts to 12 billion dollars, and in return, the volume of Chinese investments in the UAE is 7.7 billion dollars, an important part of which is in the Dubai Stock Exchange and the World Capital Center in Abu Dhabi.
The Chinese Prime Minister's visit to Abu Dhabi took place while two months ago, the President of the UAE, Mohammed bin Zayed, went on an official visit to Beijing, and as he pointed out in a tweet, the purpose of that trip was to negotiate the finalization of a strategic agreement between the two countries. is Ben Zayed wrote on X channel (Twitter): I am happy to meet with the Chinese Prime Minister in Abu Dhabi to discuss joint efforts to strengthen comprehensive strategic relations. The UAE is committed to prosperity and development for the two nations in the direction of 40 years of deep relations.
The second part of the visit of the Chinese Prime Minister was to Riyadh. In Saudi Arabia, he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and discussed and exchanged views on the development of relations with this country. According to the report of “WAS”, the official Saudi news agency, the holding of the fourth joint committee on relations between the two countries, with the focus on strengthening relations in the fields of politics, military, energy, trade, investment, culture and technology, was one of the axes discussed in the joint strategic committee between Saudi Arabia and China. China is the number one customer of Saudi oil and petrochemical products, and during the first six months of this year, the total Chinese imports from this important trading partner were reported to be 24 billion dollars.
Regional and international media have two main narratives regarding the important visit of the Chinese Prime Minister; The first narrative is related to China's deep economic relations with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and some have reported that the pursuit of a free trade agreement was the focus of bilateral consultations in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh.
In a report referring to this trip, London's “Al-Arab” newspaper claimed that the impasse in the free trade negotiations between the Persian Gulf countries and China, whose last meeting was held in Beijing last month, was the main reason for Li Chiang's trip to the Persian Gulf.
According to this report, the Saudi side believes that the conclusion of the free trade agreement of the economic bloc of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council with China is detrimental to the domestic industries of Saudi Arabia. In line with the 2030 plan, Saudi Arabia is looking to invest in industrial sectors such as electric cars. Saudi Arabia intends to become a producer of electric cars by absorbing western technology and using the cheap labor force of Asian countries. There is an assessment in Riyadh that concluding a free trade agreement with China, which is one of the giants in the production of electric cars, is detrimental to Saudi Arabia's emerging industries, and of course, this is not the only part of Saudi Arabia's emerging industries that cannot compete with China's industrial giant.
Regardless of the economic aspect, some others analyze Li Chiang's trip in relation to geopolitical developments and believe that Beijing is seeking to deepen strategic relations with the oil countries of the Persian Gulf in order to become powerful allies in the Arab world if Trump wins and deepens the trade war with the United States. have
China is heavily dependent on the oil of the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, and more than 50% of the oil needed by the country's industry comes from the 6 countries of the Cooperation Council, especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, Beijing is not at all interested in the countries of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council under pressure from the White House. disrupt the process of hydrocarbon export.
On the other hand, Beijing can hope that the good personal relations between the princes of the Persian Gulf and Trump can prevent the US trade war with China from interfering with the country's relations with the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council.
This concern is not only related to the Chinese side, and the countries of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council are also seriously concerned about this matter. In this regard, “Al-Khalij Online” in a report about the American elections emphasizes that the most important challenge for the Persian Gulf countries is the intensification of the trade competition between the United States and China. And the possible pressures of the White House in this connection are in the Trump era.
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