China-Arab bonhomie: A setback to democracy & human rights

The recent meetings Chinese President Xi Jinping had with Arab leaders in Riyadh indicate relations between Beijing and the region are all set to grow.

Observers say China today is the world's biggest energy consumer. It has had vested interest in the Arab world. The region happens to be one of the most important belts of energy in the world. Chinese firms have been expanding into technology and other infrastructure in the region.

The Arab countries today are for diversifying their strategic partners to serve their economic and security interests. They want stable and long-term markets, emerging communication fields and infrastructure construction such as sea ports. They seem to be calculating that further cooperation with China will help them serve their national interest better.

While participating in the China-Arab summit and the China-Gulf Cooperation Council conference, hosted by Saudi Arabia, President Xi had interactions with several leaders, including Qatar's Emir, Kuwait's crown prince, the Presidents of Egypt, Tunisia, Djibouti, Somalia and Mauritania and the Prime Ministers of Iraq, Morocco, Algeria, Sudan and Lebanon, to improve further the ties between China and the region.

Relations between China and Saudi Arabia have developed a lot in recent years. In January 2016, President Xi visited Saudi Arabia. During that visit, the two sides agreed to elevate the bilateral relations into a comprehensive strategic partnership.

During Xi's recent visit to Saudi Arabia, he held talks with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and its de facto ruler Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman at al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh. The two sides agreed to upgrade the China-Saudi Arabia High-level Joint Committee to the Prime Minister's level. They exchanged documents on Belt and Road cooperation, judicial, education, hydrogen energy, investment and housing cooperation, among others. Beijing and Riyadh signed over 34 agreements worth more than $30 billion. In a joint statement, Beijing and Riyadh pledged to enhance cooperation and stressed principles of sovereignty and "non-interference".

Growing ties between China and the Arab world may, however, strain US' relations with Saudi Arabia and its allies. For long, Washington has treated the region as one of its chief allies. Washington is likely to see in the growing China-Arab ties a threat to its influence in the region. The United States is already upset with Saudi Arabia. Recently, Saudi Arabia rejected US President Joe Biden's request to increase its oil production. In the wake of the Ukraine crisis, Saudi Arabia (and other Gulf countries) expressed different positions from that of the EU and the US.

Also, the growing China-Arab bonhomie is likely to be a setback to the cause of democracy and human rights. The record of the Arab world and China in this regard has been notorious. Together, the leaders of the two regions may feel more emboldened to continue trampling democracy and rights.

(Jagdish N. Singh is a senior journalist based in New Delhi. He is also Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, New York)

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