Chinese President Xi Jinping made an important statement during his Gulf Summit speech in Saudi Arabia, saying, ‘We will make full use of the Shanghai Oil and Gas Stock Exchange as an area to settle oil and gas trading in Chinese currency “.
The settlement of the Gulf States’ oil and gas trade with China on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and in Chinese yuan signifies progress towards a real one step closer to ending the dominance of the dollar in international trade.
break the dominance of the dollar
The United States of America would not have de-pegged the dollar from gold in 1971 were it not for Saudi Arabia’s agreement to value its oil in dollars, which helped Washington print more dollars without having a dollar equivalent. gold.
His Highness The Crown Prince: The GCC countries are interested in working hand in hand with the People’s Republic of China to explore practical ways to address global challenges, including food security, improving the integration of global supply chains and energy security.
And if Saudi Arabia – the world’s largest oil exporter averaging 7.5 million barrels per day – abandons dollar oil prices and turns to the yuan, and Qatar does the same with its liquefied gas, this will be a major blow to the dollar which threatens to break its dominance in the international currency market.
The gravity of the matter lies in the fact that China is the world’s largest importer of oil and gas and the second largest consumer of them, while Saudi Arabia is its largest exporter and Qatar is the second largest exporter. of liquefied gas.
Beijing imports large quantities of oil from the Gulf, and has agreed with Doha to import larger quantities of liquefied gas, which makes the economies of China and the Gulf countries integrated.
The use of the yuan in intra-trade with the Gulf countries is theoretically possible, but this step is causing concern in the United States, which is closely following Chinese expansion in its traditional areas of influence in the region.
On Dec. 7, Washington considered Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia “an example of China’s attempts to extend its influence around the world and that this will not change US policy towards the Middle East.”
And the American newspaper “The New York Times” had previously published an article last March, entitled “Saudi Arabia is considering accepting the yuan instead of the dollar when it sells its oil to China”.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is trying to pressure Washington to obtain concessions from it, especially regarding its commitment to Gulf security, equipping it with the weapons it requires in the Yemen war, stopping its pressure and brandishing it with the charter of human rights.
Chinese technology is challenging America
China is no longer just a country that imitates Western products, but has become a competitor to the United States in modern technology, especially the fifth-generation telecommunications service provided by the Chinese company Huawei, and raises security concerns in the United States .
His Highness The Crown Prince: We look to the Arab region with great interest in what the People’s Republic of China has achieved in terms of steady growth and accelerated technical progress, which has made it among the world’s leading economies, and the convening of this summit establishes a new phase to improve relations between our countries.
Riyadh’s signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese company Huawei for cloud computing technology and the construction of high-tech complexes in Saudi cities is another challenge for Washington, which has warned countries of the world about security risks to allow Huawei to establish fifth generation networks.
Despite these warnings, however, Huawei has participated in the establishment of fifth generation networks in most of the Gulf countries, which constitutes the loss of important markets for the United States and western countries of the region.
And the signing of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz “a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement” with the Chinese president on December 8, which represents a new stage in the development of relations, and the alignment of the Chinese Belt and Road initiative with the Saudi Vision 2030, especially with regard to the “NEOM” project which Chinese companies are expected to contribute to its implementation.
Although the two sides did not sign military agreements during the Chinese President’s visit to Saudi Arabia between December 7 and 9 to participate in three summits with Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states and the Arab countries, the latter announced the your country’s support for “building a jointly agreed, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security system in the Middle East.” “.
This indicates China’s willingness to help bolster Gulf security, whether in terms of selling modern weapons or even establishing military industries in the region, or by helping Saudi Arabia build a “peaceful” nuclear program.
And the strengthening of the Chinese military presence in the Gulf would weaken the security alliance with the United States, which previously refused to sell drones to Saudi Arabia, and did not lift a finger when it bombed Saudi oil facilities with drones and Ballistic missiles believed to have been launched by the Iranian-backed Houthis.
However, Saudi Arabia shows no desire to replace its alliance with Washington, but rather to expand its partnerships with more than one superpower, Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal said in 2004, that the relationship between the ‘Saudi Arabia and the United States is not a “Catholic marriage”, but an “Islamic marriage”.
Saudi Arabia does not rule out a divorce with the United States, which wants to have more than one strategic partner, and China is one of them, despite this, Riyadh still needs Washington, which is hostile to Iran, while Beijing is an ally with the latter.
Despite the development of his relations with Israel in recent decades, the Chinese president did not hesitate during the Arab summit to affirm his support for the creation of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
In response to Algerian Prime Minister Ayman bin Abdel Rahman’s request for China to support “efforts to secure full membership of the United Nations for Palestine”, the Chinese president said it was necessary to “guarantee Palestine full membership of the United Nations Unite”.
The support of a country that enjoys permanent membership in the UN Security Council is clear, as one of the outcomes of the Arab summit held in Algeria in early November.
Rather, Jinping has done much to champion the Palestinian cause, saying that “the historic injustice suffered by the Palestinians cannot continue, nor can legitimate rights be compromised.”
On the other hand, Arab leaders have renewed their support for the “one China” principle, referring to their recognition that Taiwan is part of Chinese territory.
And the Riyadh Declaration affirmed it, stating that “Taiwan is an integral part of Chinese territory, and rejecting its independence in all its forms”.
