Weighing the KSA and China’s relationships
Editor’s Letter
By Marah BuKai
The American influence in the Middle East will stay hearty and fresh for decades to come, regardless of the tactics and policies of the White House’s habitant concerning his political visions and intentions.
The decades-long relationship between the two worlds is organic and deeply embedded within the basic strategies of the two sides’ foreign policies and never depends on a particular political event.
As for the allegations that the upcoming visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Saudi Arabia and the prestigious welcome ceremony that is under planning with great care in the Kingdom, in comparison with the humble reception that President Joe Bined received in his first visit to Saudi Arabia, and the possibility that it constitutes a breach of the strength of the ties that link the Kingdom and the United States as it is rumored in the media, altogether will never be an indication of the decline of American influence in the Middle East.
The United States will remain a vital partner not only for Saudi Arabia but for countries in the entire region. What China will offer to the Gulf states can only go beyond the levels of its own “gain” without the ability to present an objective political accord that could match the Washington- Riyadh’s alliance.
China may take advantage of the vacuum left by Biden’s administration, to leak- in and play its own music that was out of reach with a strong and influential American presence in the Kingdom and the Gulf region, but what Beijing will be able to offer as a contribution to this equation, will be very tight comparing to the nature of needs and interests of both parties from this equation.
Whoever is betting that the American influence in the Middle East will fade and be replaced by the Chinese “genie” does not know very well how American foreign policies are managed here in Washington in the long term.
However, despite the well-known polarization policies of the Chinese Communist Party, China remained neutral about the Russian war on Ukraine, while at the core of its relationship, remained with strong support to Moscow, and never renounced tacit assistance to Moscow as its retaliation from the enemy: America!
Make no mistake that America will remain a great model and strong inspiration to the Arab generations who are fighting to live in such freedom, dignity, equality, and prosperity as the American lifestyle and societies.