The government of Saudi Arabia confirmed Tuesday that China's President Xi Jinping would make his first visit in six years to the country for a summit from Dec. 7 to 9.
According to Breibart, Xi will attend two summits, a pan-Arab summit and a Gulf state summit. The two summits are said to strengthen cooperation in economics and development between the two countries.
But despite Saudi Arabia confirming rumors of Xi's attendance, the Chinese government has yet to confirm their president's visit.
Instead, a report from the Chinese state-run Global Times read on Monday that "China will take the upcoming summit between China and Arab states as an opportunity to carry forward traditional friendship, deepen cooperation in all areas, step up exchanges between respective civilizations, and build a China-Arab states community with a shared future in the new era."
The state-run paper added that Saudi Arabia, as well as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), are drifting away from American influence as a result of the Biden administration.
"In terms of geopolitics, Saudi Arabia and the UAE currently believe that the U.S. has no right to dictate to Gulf countries how they should proceed under any circumstances, and that they can solve regional problems without the U.S. and pursue independent policies within the framework of OPEC+."
And on Tuesday, the Global Times ran a piece praising Arab support for China's signature development project, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China uses the BRI to erode states' sovereignty via predatory loans.
"Under the framework of the BRI," the Global Times writes, "China has deeply participated in the infrastructure construction of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria and other countries."
"In their long-term interactions with the Western countries, Arab countries have become tired of the condescending arrogance of the West. Just as Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said when he met with U.S. President Joe Biden in July – the only way we're going to work together is if we respect each other, and that includes countries respecting each other's values and sovereignty."
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