Unless something unexpected happens next week, Chinese President Xi Jinping will be received with royal honors in Saudi Arabia. According to the reports, the Saudis intend to receive the Chinese president warmly and shower him with honors and gifts as they did at the time when President Trump visited the kingdom shortly after entering the White House.
The warmer the welcome to the Chinese leader will be, the more sting the Saudis will send to President Biden, who was received coldly last month when he arrived in Jeddah.
Saudi Arabia is currently China's largest trading partner in the Middle East, when in 2020 the value of trade between the two sides amounted to close to 70 billion dollars. China is the leading consumer of Saudi oil.