Saudi Arabia is considering allowing China to build a nuclear-power plant in the kingdom, The Wall Street Journal reported.
State-owned China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC) has bid to build a nuclear plant in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, near the border with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, the Journal reported Friday.
The main reason for engaging China, Saudi officials told the Journal, is to pressure the Biden administration to compromise on its conditions for U.S. help in the quest for nuclear power.
The U.S. has demanded that Saudi Arabia, the biggest buyer of U.S. weapons, agree not to enrich its own uranium or mine its own uranium deposits.
China, seeing to spread its influence in the Middle East, has not made that demand.
The Saudis want the U.S. to help develop a civilian nuclear program, as well as to provide security guarantees. That would be part of a possible deal that would include diplomatic normalization with Israel.
Israel and some U.S. lawmakers are concerned that Riyadh's aim of developing a nuclear-energy program could lead to the development of nuclear weapons, the Journal reported.
Despite CNNC's bid, Saudi officials told the Journal that the kingdom would prefer to hire South Korea's Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco) to build the plant's reactors, with the help of U.S. operational expertise.
However, the Saudis do not want to agree to the nonproliferation demands from the Biden administration.
U.S. officials believe American operational and regulatory expertise is better than China's.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is ready to pursue a deal with CNNC if talks with the U.S. fail, the Journal reported.
Justin Dargin, a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace nonresident fellow who specializes in Middle East energy, told the Journal that China likely will not impose the same kind of nonproliferation requirements on the kingdom.
An agreement between Saudi Arabia and China to build a nuclear-power plant likely would mean a longtime partnership.
Former CNNC chair Sun Qin once compared such deals to a "100-year marriage" because of the time involved, from initial discussions all the way through the plant's maintenance and decommissioning.
News of the potential deal for a Chinese nuclear-power plant in Saudi Arabia comes after previous cooperation between the two countries.
China is the kingdom's largest oil buyer and biggest trading partner. The Journal reported Beijing has helped the Saudis build their own ballistic missiles, and assisted with a facility for extracting uranium yellowcake from uranium ore, an initial step toward enriching uranium.
Earlier this year, China brokered a potential deal for Saudi Arabia and Iran to normalize relations.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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