Xi travels to Saudi for three days of Mideast outreach

Xi travels to Saudi for three days of Mideast outreach

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for three days of meetings with regional leaders likely focused on energy.

The overseas trip is only Xi's third since the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020, and his first to Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest crude oil exporter, since 2016.

It will feature bilateral meetings with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as a summit with the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council and a wider China-Arab summit, Saudi state media reported.

Oil markets are expected to be a top agenda item for talks between China, the world's biggest crude consumer, and Saudi Arabia, especially given the turmoil the markets have experienced since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

The G7 and European Union on Friday agreed to a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil in an attempt to deny the Kremlin war resources, injecting further uncertainty into the markets.

On Sunday, the OPEC+ oil cartel led jointly by Saudi Arabia and Russia opted to keep in place production cuts of two million barrels per day approved in October.

Saudi and Chinese officials have provided scant information about the agenda, though Ali Shihabi, a Saudi analyst close to the government, said he expected "a