Saudi Arabia signs Huawei deal, deepening China ties on Xi visit - Reuters

RIYADH, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and China showcased deepening ties with a bid of strategical deals connected Thursday during a sojourn by President Xi Jinping, including 1 with tech elephantine Huawei, whose increasing foray into the Gulf portion has raised U.S. information concerns.

King Salman signed a "comprehensive strategical concern agreement" with Xi, who received a lavish invited successful a state forging caller planetary partnerships beyond the West.

Xi's car was escorted to the king's palace by members of the Saudi Royal Guard riding Arabian horses and carrying Chinese and Saudi flags, and helium aboriginal attended a invited banquet.

The Chinese person held talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, de facto ruler of the lipid giant, who greeted him with a lukewarm smile. Xi heralded "a caller era" successful Arab ties.

The show stood successful stark opposition to the low-key invited extended successful July to U.S. President Joe Biden, with whom ties person been strained by Saudi vigor argumentation and the 2018 execution of Jamal Khashoggi that had overshadowed the awkward visit.

The United States, warily watching China's increasing sway and with its ties to Riyadh astatine a nadir, said connected Wednesday Xi's travel was an illustration of Chinese attempts to exert influence astir the satellite and would not alteration U.S. argumentation towards the Middle East.

A memorandum with China's Huawei Technologies [RIC:RIC:HWT.UL], connected unreality computing and gathering high-tech complexes successful Saudi cities, was agreed contempt U.S. unease with Gulf allies implicit a imaginable information hazard successful utilizing the Chinese firm's technology. Huawei has participated successful gathering 5G networks successful astir Gulf states contempt the U.S. concerns.

Prince Mohammed, with whom Biden bumped fists alternatively of shaking hands successful July, has made a comeback connected the satellite signifier pursuing the Khashoggi sidesplitting and has been defiant successful the look of U.S. ire implicit lipid supplies and unit from Washington to assistance isolate Russia.

In further burnishing of his planetary credentials, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates said connected Thursday that the prince and the UAE president jointly led mediation efforts that secured the merchandise of U.S. hoops prima Brittney Griner successful a captive swap with Russia.

In an op-ed published successful Saudi media, Xi said helium was connected a "pioneering trip" to "open a caller epoch of China's relations with the Arab world, the Arab countries of the Gulf, and Saudi Arabia".

China and Arab countries would "continue to clasp precocious the banner of non-interference successful interior affairs", Xi added.

That sentiment was echoed by the crown prince, who said his state opposed immoderate "interference successful China's interior affairs successful the sanction of quality rights", Chinese authorities broadcaster CCTV said.

Xi, owed to conscionable different Gulf lipid producers and be a wider gathering of Arab leaders connected Friday, said China would enactment to marque those summits "milestone events successful the past of China-Arab relations", and that Beijing sees Riyadh arsenic "an important unit successful the multipolar world".

Saudi Arabia and different Gulf states similar the United Arab Emirates person said that they would not take sides betwixt planetary powers and were diversifying partners to service nationalist economical and information interests.

"TRUSTED PARTNER"

China, the world's biggest vigor consumer, is simply a large commercialized spouse of Gulf states and bilateral ties person expanded arsenic the portion pushes economical diversification, raising U.S. hackles astir Chinese engagement successful delicate Gulf infrastructure.

The Saudi vigor curate connected Wednesday said Riyadh would enactment a "trusted and reliable" vigor spouse for Beijing and the 2 would boost practice successful vigor proviso chains by mounting up a determination centre successful the kingdom for Chinese factories.

Chinese and Saudi firms besides signed 34 deals for concern successful greenish energy, accusation technology, unreality services, transport, operation and different sectors, authorities quality bureau SPA reported. It gave nary figures, but had earlier said the 2 countries would seal archetypal agreements worthy $30 billion.

Tang Tianbo, Middle East specializer astatine the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) - a Chinese government-affiliated deliberation vessel - said the sojourn would effect successful further enlargement of vigor cooperation.

Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi successful Riyadh and Eduardo Baptista successful Beijing; Writing by Tom Perry and Dominic Evans; Editing by Ghaida Ghantous and Nick Macfie, William Maclean

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