China Criticizes Iran for Threatening to Block Hormuz Strait Oil Shipments

[The SC]

Friday, 6 July, 2018 - 09:15

Trading dhows and ships are docked on the Arabian Gulf waters near the town of Khasab, in Oman. (AP)

China condemned on Friday Iran for threatening to block oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran should make more effort to ensure stability in the Middle East and get along with its neighbors, said Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong.

He made his remarks during a news briefing ahead of a major summit between China and Arab states that kicks off in Beijing next week.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and some senior military commanders have threatened to disrupt oil shipments from the Gulf countries if Washington tries to strangle Tehran’s oil exports.

Carrying one-third of the world’s seaborne oil every day, the Strait of Hormuz links Middle East crude producers to key markets in Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and beyond.

Asked about the Iranian threat to the strait, Chen remarked that China and Arab countries had close communications about Middle East peace, including the Iran issue.

“China consistently believes that the relevant country should do more to benefit peace and stability in the region, and jointly protect peace and stability there,” he added.

“Especially as it is a country on the Gulf, it should dedicate itself to being a good neighbor and co-existing peacefully,” he continued. “China will continue to play our positive, constructive role.”

Ministers from 21 Arab countries are attending the summit, as well as Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah. Chinese President Xi Jinping will give the opening address on Tuesday.

The United States Navy vowed on Thursday to protect oil routes and international navigation in the Hormuz Strait in wake of Iran’s threats.

“The US and its partners provide, and promote security and stability in the region,” Central Command spokesman Navy Captain Bill Urban said in an email to Reuters.

Asked what would be the US naval reaction if Iran blocks the strait, he said: “Together, we stand ready to ensure the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce wherever international law allows.”


https://aawsat.com/english/home/art...threatening-block-hormuz-strait-oil-shipments

 

[El Sidd]

#FakeNews

 

[BATMAN]

False report, Islamic republic will never do such a thing.

 

[El Sidd]

False report, Islamic republic will never do such a thing.

Its so haram

 

[Saif al-Arab]

False report, Islamic republic will never do such a thing.

How is the failed Mullah regime going to close the Strait of Hurmuz when half of the strait belongs to Oman and UAE (territorial waters)?

Not to say that the GCC (vastly superior military, economic and diplomatic clout) is just around the corner not to mention the US and all world powers (China too depends on oil and gas imports from the region and they would never allow a disruption to occur either).

Just the usual pathetic fantasy from those deluded Mullah's.

Would not impact KSA either way.



The beautiful Red Sea is a 100 times more important passage for trade. Over 10% of the world's trade (almost all the trade in the world is done through maritime trade) passes through the Red Sea which is the domestic domain and backyard of KSA and Egypt.

BTW the Mullah regime is once again giving us all one of their "greatest hits" (in other words most idiotic statements). A most recent example (that I read at least, properly more gold coins have been thrown since then) that I read a few days ago, was an Mullah official (general even, lol) claiming that the reason for the droughts in Iran were due to "cloud theft" by USrael.

http://www.euronews.com/2018/07/05/iranian-general-accuses-israel-of-cloud-theft-the-cube

BTW, China and the Arab world (KSA being the largest trade partner) annual trade is a staggering 200 billion USD. China has only 1 foreign policy paper (official) about a single region of the world. It's the Arab world.

TODAY was the 8th annual Arab-Sino meeting where tons of deals were signed again.

Anyone who even for a second believes that China would side with Iran against Arab states is immensely deluded.

This occurred 35 years ago when KSA and China did not even have official diplomatic ties (officially).

Saudi Arabia publicly displayed its Dong Feng-3 (DF-3) ballistic missiles for the first time in a 29 April 2014 on a parade that marked the end of the largest ever military exercise held in the kingdom. The military exercise and official display of the ballistic missiles, which were acquired secretly from China in 1987 were clear signals Riyadh is directing to both Washington and Tehran. Riyadh acquired the missiles from China during the height of the 'city war' phase of the Iran-Iraq, after Washington refused selling short range ballistic missiles to the kingdom.
​

KSA and China are currently excavating uranium in KSA. People can add the dots themselves.

Within 10-15 years China will be the by far most important partner of KSA. It is already our largest trade partner.

For geographical reasons and strategic ones, the Arab world is a key area of the world that the Chinese would like to have much greater influence in given the proximity to the West. Increased Chinese presence also means decreased US presence.

The Arab world serves like a bridge between 3 continents (Asia, Africa and Europe) 2 of which are booming forward population and economic wise, in particular Africa (from nothing literary). That is why Chinese presence is so significant and especially in Eastern Africa. Once again for strategic reasons.

While we speak KSA and China are building military bases in Horn of Africa next to each other as well.


THE BLOG
09/26/2016 12:49 pm ET Updated Dec 06, 2017
Why China and Saudi Arabia Are Building Bases in Djibouti

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-braude/why-china-and-saudi-arabi_b_12194702.html

A really great and detailed article BTW.

This battle between the two giants, is something that will only suit the Arab world if the leaders manage to take advantage of it. KSA has done it well so far. Close economic, political and military ties with the US has never hindered even closer economic ties with China or developing industrial, educational, military etc. ties. It's just the beginning and I know that leaderships (especially the youth) think alike.

 

[The SC]

Iran should make more effort to ensure stability in the Middle East and get along with its neighbors, said Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong.

 

[Śakra]

Iran should make more effort to ensure stability in the Middle East and get along with its neighbors, said Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong.

Says the world. iran has set fire to the ME

 

[$@rJen]

#FakeNews

China chides Iran over threat to block oil exports through Strait of Hormuz
Reuters Staff

3 Min Read

• 
  

BEIJING (Reuters) - Iran should make more effort to ensure stability in the Middle East and get along with its neighbors, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Friday, as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned they may block oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani attends a news conference at the Chancellery in Vienna, Austria July 4, 2018. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait are among China’s most important oil suppliers, while Qatar supplies liquefied natural gas to China, so any blockage of the strait would have serious consequences for its economy.

But Beijing has had to tread carefully with Arab nations like Saudi Arabia as China also has close ties with Iran.

Sponsored

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and some senior military commanders have threatened to disrupt oil shipments from the Gulf countries if Washington tries to strangle Tehran’s oil exports.

Carrying one-third of the world’s seaborne oil every day, the Strait of Hormuz links Middle East crude producers to key markets in Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and beyond.

Asked about the Iranian threat to the strait, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong said that China and Arab countries had close communications about Middle East peace, including the Iran issue.

“China consistently believes that the relevant country should do more to benefit peace and stability in the region, and jointly protect peace and stability there,” Chen told a news briefing, ahead of a major summit between China and Arab states in Beijing next week.

“Especially as it is a country on the Gulf, it should dedicate itself to being a good neighbor and co-existing peacefully,” he added. “China will continue to play our positive, constructive role.”

Ministers from 21 Arab countries are attending the summit, as well as Kuwait’s elderly ruler, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah. Chinese President Xi Jinping will give the opening address on Tuesday.

Having previously been a bit player in past years, China has stepped up its involvement in the Middle East since Xi came to power six years ago, including sending a frigate to evacuate foreign nationals from Yemen in 2015.

Adding another layer to the careful diplomatic dance China will have to perform, Chen said Qatar will be represented at the summit too, though he did not say by whom.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt imposed a boycott on tiny, gas-rich Qatar in June 2017, severing diplomatic and transport ties and accusing it of supporting terrorism, which it denies.

“We call on all sides to meet each other halfway and give consideration to each other’s concerns, and find a way to alleviate the problem via dialogue,” Chen said.

Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Christian Schmollinger

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...xports-through-strait-of-hormuz-idUSKBN1JW0CQ

 

[haidian]

China chides Iran over threat to block oil exports through Strait of Hormuz
Reuters Staff

3 Min Read

BEIJING (Reuters) - Iran should make more effort to ensure stability in the Middle East and get along with its neighbors, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Friday, as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned they may block oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani attends a news conference at the Chancellery in Vienna, Austria July 4, 2018. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait are among China’s most important oil suppliers, while Qatar supplies liquefied natural gas to China, so any blockage of the strait would have serious consequences for its economy.

But Beijing has had to tread carefully with Arab nations like Saudi Arabia as China also has close ties with Iran.

Sponsored

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and some senior military commanders have threatened to disrupt oil shipments from the Gulf countries if Washington tries to strangle Tehran’s oil exports.

Carrying one-third of the world’s seaborne oil every day, the Strait of Hormuz links Middle East crude producers to key markets in Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and beyond.

Asked about the Iranian threat to the strait, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong said that China and Arab countries had close communications about Middle East peace, including the Iran issue.

“China consistently believes that the relevant country should do more to benefit peace and stability in the region, and jointly protect peace and stability there,” Chen told a news briefing, ahead of a major summit between China and Arab states in Beijing next week.

“Especially as it is a country on the Gulf, it should dedicate itself to being a good neighbor and co-existing peacefully,” he added. “China will continue to play our positive, constructive role.”

Ministers from 21 Arab countries are attending the summit, as well as Kuwait’s elderly ruler, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah. Chinese President Xi Jinping will give the opening address on Tuesday.

Having previously been a bit player in past years, China has stepped up its involvement in the Middle East since Xi came to power six years ago, including sending a frigate to evacuate foreign nationals from Yemen in 2015.

Adding another layer to the careful diplomatic dance China will have to perform, Chen said Qatar will be represented at the summit too, though he did not say by whom.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt imposed a boycott on tiny, gas-rich Qatar in June 2017, severing diplomatic and transport ties and accusing it of supporting terrorism, which it denies.

“We call on all sides to meet each other halfway and give consideration to each other’s concerns, and find a way to alleviate the problem via dialogue,” Chen said.

Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Christian Schmollinger

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...xports-through-strait-of-hormuz-idUSKBN1JW0CQ

Not according to the Chinese news
https://www.google.com.hk/search?biw=1680&bih=919&tbm=nws&ei=Uo1FW9v4BpOm9QOXmroQ&q=中国伊朗&oq=中国伊朗&gs_l=psy-ab.3...1118116.1124288.0.1124503.23.16.2.0.0.0.477.1159.3-2j1.3.0....0...1c.1j4.64.psy-ab..18.3.334...0.0.CWJ1x9fFAtY

http://www.china.com.cn/opinion/think/2018-07/04/content_54796194.htm

 

[Dalit]

Don't worry. As always shupapowa India is going to jump in and save the day.

 

[mighty mason]

now that we done with these morons, India should also stop buying crude.This will ensure that they come back to their senses and come back into the mainstream, too much nukes pose a threat to the world itself, radical groups in middle east may blow themselves up or may threaten to attack other smaller countries.
we cannot have more Indo-pak and SK-NK type borders where people are thirsty for enemy blood.
Iran wants to develop nukes out of enmity and not fear like China or India or pakistan did, they dont want to be neutral but want to assert their rule in the region, sorry but this is way to much nuke nuke, wont tolerate such nonsense.

 

[$@rJen]

Not according to the Chinese news
https://www.google.com.hk/search?biw=1680&bih=919&tbm=nws&ei=Uo1FW9v4BpOm9QOXmroQ&q=中国伊朗&oq=中国伊朗&gs_l=psy-ab.3...1118116.1124288.0.1124503.23.16.2.0.0.0.477.1159.3-2j1.3.0....0...1c.1j4.64.psy-ab..18.3.334...0.0.CWJ1x9fFAtY

http://www.china.com.cn/opinion/think/2018-07/04/content_54796194.htm

can you translate is please

 

[Sineva]

How is the failed Mullah regime going to close the Strait of Hurmuz when half of the strait belongs to Oman and UAE (territorial waters)?

You really do need to take a nice long hard look at a comprehensive map of the strait of hormuz,one with maritime boundaries and shipping channels.
Its not so much the strait itself,its the deep water channels in the strait that are a necessity for oil taker operations that are the problem,you see even if the channels that allow tankers entry into the strait are on the omani side of the boundary,but the channels that allow tankers out of the strait are on the iranian side,so...you get the picture?.

Not to say that the GCC (vastly superior military, economic and diplomatic clout) is just around the corner not to mention the US and all world powers (China too depends on oil and gas imports from the region and they would never allow a disruption to occur either).

Just the usual pathetic fantasy from those deluded Mullah's.

Would not impact KSA either way.

Ahh yes,the "vastly superior military" that even after 3 years has still not defeated the remnant of the yemeni military in a stand up fight ie NOT an insurgency.
The gulfie militaries suffer from the exact same problem,if not even more so,that plagued the rest of the arab militaries and that was corruption and incompetence on a truly huge scale,but sadly when you choose your commanders and top brass based purely on loyalty to the regime and not much else you wind up with this,and this sad state of affairs is pretty much due to the fear and,probably justified to some degree,paranoia among the arab regimes that the military could stage a coup and overthrow them,so naturally loyalty comes first....and second and third...etc,indeed for these regimes the last thing you really want is some capable or charismatic military officer because he might end up running the country....just like nasser for instance.Unfortunately tho it tends to leave you with a military that is barely even capable despite the ridiculous sums of money spent on weapons and is riddled with a culture of corruption,nepotism and incompetence,one only has to look at the last 60years of arab military history to see just how utterly abysmal the results have been militarily,and frankly I just dont think that is going to change.
I think the only one having a fantasy here is you my friend.

Would not impact KSA either way.



The beautiful Red Sea is a 100 times more important passage for trade. Over 10% of the world's trade (almost all the trade in the world is done through maritime trade) passes through the Red Sea which is the domestic domain and backyard of KSA and Egypt.

It most certainly would effect saudi my friend.The red sea pipelines even at best can only carry less than half of what goes thru the persian gulf by tanker daily,not to mention that a pipeline is far more vulnerable to...shall we say "accidents"[lol!] than a tanker,for instance one could mine a tanker and altho it would suffer some nasty damage it probably wouldnt sink and could likely be patched up enough to continue its journey,but if you mine a pipeline...well you`re probably looking at days of work to fix it and get it up and running again.And then there are the ports themselves,its not that difficult to mine a ship in the right place and potentially you`ve shut that port down,of course you probably dont even need to go that far simply destroying critical port infrastructure like container and cargo cranes are going to bring loading and unloading operations to a screeching halt.Now when one considers just how reliant saudi is on imports then one can see all the potential problems for saudi.
The red sea ports and pipelines are not the lifeline you seem to think they are in the even of a hormuz shutdown.

BTW the Mullah regime is once again giving us all one of their "greatest hits" (in other words most idiotic statements). A most recent example (that I read at least, properly more gold coins have been thrown since then) that I read a few days ago, was an Mullah official (general even, lol) claiming that the reason for the droughts in Iran were due to "cloud theft" by USrael.

http://www.euronews.com/2018/07/05/iranian-general-accuses-israel-of-cloud-theft-the-cube

Yes,but its still not as funny as this one tho
https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/there-is-no-such-thing-as-wahabism-saudi-prince-says-1.552348
Or perhaps this one,its president chump claiming that hes not stupid
https://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/trump-david-cameron-223204
Or this one from the zionists perhaps
http://www.newsweek.com/israel-lawm...jews-who-want-men-women-pray-together-1010164
So we can clearly see that iran has no monopoly on members of government institutions who publicly make stupid comments,the saudi,the americans and the zionists also seem to suffer from foot in mouth disease[lol!]

Anyone who even for a second believes that China would side with Iran against Arab states is immensely deluded.

What makes you assume that the chinese would necessarily take anyones side at all.I think its very likely that the chinese would do what they usually always do and that is to simply stay out of it while calling for a political solution,as I doubt that china would want to imperil relations with either player because then it would risk loosing either way.

Saudi Arabia publicly displayed its Dong Feng-3 (DF-3) ballistic missiles for the first time in a 29 April 2014 on a parade that marked the end of the largest ever military exercise held in the kingdom. The military exercise and official display of the ballistic missiles, which were acquired secretly from China in 1987 were clear signals Riyadh is directing to both Washington and Tehran. Riyadh acquired the missiles from China during the height of the 'city war' phase of the Iran-Iraq, after Washington refused selling short range ballistic missiles to the kingdom.​

You mean those horrifically expensive obsolete ones that the chinese were in the process of replacing anyway back in the mid to late 80s?
The same ones that you`ve only ever paraded once back in 2014,by which time you`d had them for over a quarter century and to my knowledge during that time have never even test fired a single missile!!!!!?????.Actually everything I`ve ever read or heard points to the total inability of the saudis to even maintain let alone actually operate these weapons at all,the suspicion is that the saudi missile forces are nothing more than a huge potemkin,and increasingly I personally think that could also be just as true of the entire saudi military as well.
If you really want to see what a genuine operational ballistic missile force actually looks like,then you need look no further afield than iran,now compare that to the saudi one and the difference is obvious and stark.

KSA and China are currently excavating uranium in KSA. People can add the dots themselves.

Within 10-15 years China will be the by far most important partner of KSA. It is already our largest trade partner.

I strongly suspect your american overlordsmight just have something to say about that.You see thats the problem with vassalage you just dont get to put your own wants or interests first,they always wind up coming a very distant second to your masters.[lol!]
Still dreams are free...

 

[The SC]

You really do need to take a nice long hard look at a comprehensive map of the strait of hormuz,one with maritime boundaries and shipping channels.
Its not so much the strait itself,its the deep water channels in the strait that are a necessity for oil taker operations that are the problem,you see even if the channels that allow tankers entry into the strait are on the omani side of the boundary,but the channels that allow tankers out of the strait are on the iranian side,so...you get the picture?.



Ahh yes,the "vastly superior military" that even after 3 years has still not defeated the remnant of the yemeni military in a stand up fight ie NOT an insurgency.
The gulfie militaries suffer from the exact same problem,if not even more so,that plagued the rest of the arab militaries and that was corruption and incompetence on a truly huge scale,but sadly when you choose your commanders and top brass based purely on loyalty to the regime and not much else you wind up with this,and this sad state of affairs is pretty much due to the fear and,probably justified to some degree,paranoia among the arab regimes that the military could stage a coup and overthrow them,so naturally loyalty comes first....and second and third...etc,indeed for these regimes the last thing you really want is some capable or charismatic military officer because he might end up running the country....just like nasser for instance.Unfortunately tho it tends to leave you with a military that is barely even capable despite the ridiculous sums of money spent on weapons and is riddled with a culture of corruption,nepotism and incompetence,one only has to look at the last 60years of arab military history to see just how utterly abysmal the results have been militarily,and frankly I just dont think that is going to change.
I think the only one having a fantasy here is you my friend.



It most certainly would effect saudi my friend.The red sea pipelines even at best can only carry less than half of what goes thru the persian gulf by tanker daily,not to mention that a pipeline is far more vulnerable to...shall we say "accidents"[lol!] than a tanker,for instance one could mine a tanker and altho it would suffer some nasty damage it probably wouldnt sink and could likely be patched up enough to continue its journey,but if you mine a pipeline...well you`re probably looking at days of work to fix it and get it up and running again.And then there are the ports themselves,its not that difficult to mine a ship in the right place and potentially you`ve shut that port down,of course you probably dont even need to go that far simply destroying critical port infrastructure like container and cargo cranes are going to bring loading and unloading operations to a screeching halt.Now when one considers just how reliant saudi is on imports then one can see all the potential problems for saudi.
The red sea ports and pipelines are not the lifeline you seem to think they are in the even of a hormuz shutdown.



Yes,but its still not as funny as this one tho
https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/there-is-no-such-thing-as-wahabism-saudi-prince-says-1.552348
Or perhaps this one,its president chump claiming that hes not stupid
https://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/trump-david-cameron-223204
Or this one from the zionists perhaps
http://www.newsweek.com/israel-lawm...jews-who-want-men-women-pray-together-1010164
So we can clearly see that iran has no monopoly on members of government institutions who publicly make stupid comments,the saudi,the americans and the zionists also seem to suffer from foot in mouth disease[lol!]



What makes you assume that the chinese would necessarily take anyones side at all.I think its very likely that the chinese would do what they usually always do and that is to simply stay out of it while calling for a political solution,as I doubt that china would want to imperil relations with either player because then it would risk loosing either way.


You mean those horrifically expensive obsolete ones that the chinese were in the process of replacing anyway back in the mid to late 80s?
The same ones that you`ve only ever paraded once back in 2014,by which time you`d had them for over a quarter century and to my knowledge during that time have never even test fired a single missile!!!!!?????.Actually everything I`ve ever read or heard points to the total inability of the saudis to even maintain let alone actually operate these weapons at all,the suspicion is that the saudi missile forces are nothing more than a huge potemkin,and increasingly I personally think that could also be just as true of the entire saudi military as well.
If you really want to see what a genuine operational ballistic missile force actually looks like,then you need look no further afield than iran,now compare that to the saudi one and the difference is obvious and stark.


I strongly suspect your american overlordsmight just have something to say about that.You see thats the problem with vassalage you just dont get to put your own wants or interests first,they always wind up coming a very distant second to your masters.[lol!]
Still dreams are free...

Don't hurt your head too much.. the same channels on the Omani side can allow traffic both ways if necessary.. although it will get slower..
The same applies to the rest of your post.. your logic is full of bias and ignorance..hence its sucks.. one small example.. why would you expect Saudi Arabia to test BM that were already tested, approved and matured tech by China.. did get the point that your thought process is not very good in analysis of events and estimations of forces?
Wet day dreaming is free too..

 

[KediKesenFare3]

How is the failed Mullah regime going to close the Strait of Hurmuz when half of the strait belongs to Oman and UAE (territorial waters)?

Not to say that the GCC (vastly superior military, economic and diplomatic clout) is just around the corner not to mention the US and all world powers (China too depends on oil and gas imports from the region and they would never allow a disruption to occur either).

Just the usual pathetic fantasy from those deluded Mullah's.

Would not impact KSA either way.



The beautiful Red Sea is a 100 times more important passage for trade. Over 10% of the world's trade (almost all the trade in the world is done through maritime trade) passes through the Red Sea which is the domestic domain and backyard of KSA and Egypt.

BTW the Mullah regime is once again giving us all one of their "greatest hits" (in other words most idiotic statements). A most recent example (that I read at least, properly more gold coins have been thrown since then) that I read a few days ago, was an Mullah official (general even, lol) claiming that the reason for the droughts in Iran were due to "cloud theft" by USrael.

http://www.euronews.com/2018/07/05/iranian-general-accuses-israel-of-cloud-theft-the-cube

BTW, China and the Arab world (KSA being the largest trade partner) annual trade is a staggering 200 billion USD. China has only 1 foreign policy paper (official) about a single region of the world. It's the Arab world.

TODAY was the 8th annual Arab-Sino meeting where tons of deals were signed again.

Anyone who even for a second believes that China would side with Iran against Arab states is immensely deluded.

This occurred 35 years ago when KSA and China did not even have official diplomatic ties (officially).

Saudi Arabia publicly displayed its Dong Feng-3 (DF-3) ballistic missiles for the first time in a 29 April 2014 on a parade that marked the end of the largest ever military exercise held in the kingdom. The military exercise and official display of the ballistic missiles, which were acquired secretly from China in 1987 were clear signals Riyadh is directing to both Washington and Tehran. Riyadh acquired the missiles from China during the height of the 'city war' phase of the Iran-Iraq, after Washington refused selling short range ballistic missiles to the kingdom.
​

KSA and China are currently excavating uranium in KSA. People can add the dots themselves.

Within 10-15 years China will be the by far most important partner of KSA. It is already our largest trade partner.

For geographical reasons and strategic ones, the Arab world is a key area of the world that the Chinese would like to have much greater influence in given the proximity to the West. Increased Chinese presence also means decreased US presence.

The Arab world serves like a bridge between 3 continents (Asia, Africa and Europe) 2 of which are booming forward population and economic wise, in particular Africa (from nothing literary). That is why Chinese presence is so significant and especially in Eastern Africa. Once again for strategic reasons.

While we speak KSA and China are building military bases in Horn of Africa next to each other as well.


THE BLOG
09/26/2016 12:49 pm ET Updated Dec 06, 2017
Why China and Saudi Arabia Are Building Bases in Djibouti

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-braude/why-china-and-saudi-arabi_b_12194702.html

A really great and detailed article BTW.

This battle between the two giants, is something that will only suit the Arab world if the leaders manage to take advantage of it. KSA has done it well so far. Close economic, political and military ties with the US has never hindered even closer economic ties with China or developing industrial, educational, military etc. ties. It's just the beginning and I know that leaderships (especially the youth) think alike.

Don't fool yourself. Saudi Arabia's China policy depends almost entirely on the goodwill of the U.S. If the Americans don't want you to have any kind of relationship with China, you will terminate every single deal you have signed with the Chinese immediately.

Never forget: Saudi Arabia is the weakest country in the Middle East when it comes to sovereignty.