Saudi Arabia can 'bridge the gap' between the U.S. and China, finance minister says

Saudi Arabia tin assistance beryllium a conduit betwixt the U.S. and China astatine a clip of heightened geopolitical tensions, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said Monday astatine the World Economic Forum successful Davos, Switzerland.

The comments came amid questions implicit what the curate was astir disquieted astir successful 2023. He called for calm and cooperation, noting his country's quality to support an unfastened dialog with each large governmental powers amid Russia's warfare successful Ukraine, contention betwixt Washington and Beijing, and a volatile vigor market.

"I truly deliberation that we request to absorption connected collaboration, cooperation, avoiding much geopolitical tensions, and calling for calm and governmental solutions to geopolitical tensions," al-Jadaan told CNBC's Hadley Gamble.

"We made our presumption precise wide connected these issues — whether it is successful the wide assembly successful the United Nations oregon different forums."

Asked astir Saudi Arabia's quality to facilitate dialog betwixt adversarial powers similar the U.S. and China, al-Jadaan said: "I would accidental perfectly yes. We person a precise strategical narration with the U.S., and we person a adjacent narration with China, and we deliberation we tin span the gap."

The Saudi kingdom and the United States person a narration that dates backmost to the 1930s, and which has been summed up successful wide presumption arsenic 1 of lipid successful speech for security. The U.S. has subject installments successful Saudi Arabia, selling precocious weaponry and providing grooming and associated operations with the Saudi military.

The Biden administration's captious stance toward the kingdom poured immoderate acold h2o connected the astir century-old narration of late, with Saudi Arabia subsequently refusing to pump much lipid for the planetary marketplace to equilibrium retired the nonaccomplishment of Russian supply, contempt pleas from the White House. The nonaccomplishment of Russian lipid and state to Western markets comes from sanctions imposed by the U.S. and EU implicit Moscow's full-scale penetration of Ukraine.

China, meanwhile, has for years been making inroads — particularly economically — arsenic Saudi Arabia's apical trading spouse and the largest purchaser of its oil. Riyadh's narration with Beijing is much functional and economical than strategic, meaning it is not apt to supplant the U.S.'s relation successful the kingdom anytime soon.

However, Saudi Arabia successful caller years has been buying much Chinese weapons, successful peculiar the ones that Washington has been little than consenting to merchantability its Gulf ally, similar lethal drones. Technology transfers and Chinese infrastructure projects are besides increasing successful the kingdom, arsenic Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman seeks to diversify his country's alliances and marque it much independent.

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Saudi Arabia successful December, and the 2 countries signed a strategical concern statement that the Chinese overseas ministry astatine the clip called "an epoch-making milestone successful the past of China-Arab relations."