China’s Xi promotes Mideast security, energy ties at Saudi summits

China’s Xi promotes Mideast security, energy ties at Saudi summits

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday touted close security and energy ties with Gulf nations during summits in Saudi Arabia that have highlighted tensions with Washington.

On the third and final day of his visit, Xi attended a gathering of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council and a broader China-Arab leaders' meeting.

It was only Xi's third journey outside China since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Friday's talks followed bilateral sit-downs on Thursday with Saudi royals that yielded a joint statement stressing "the importance of stability" in oil markets -- a point of friction with the United States, which has urged the Saudis to raise production.

"China will continue to firmly support the GCC countries in maintaining their own security... and build a collective security framework for the Gulf," Xi said on Friday at the start of the China-GCC summit.

"China will continue to import large quantities of crude oil from GCC countries on an ongoing basis," he said, also vowing to expand other areas of energy cooperation including liquefied natural gas imports.

Additionally, Xi said China would make full use of a Shanghai-based platform "to carry out RMB [yuan] settlement of oil and gas trade" -- a move that, if Gulf countries participate, could weaken the global