Former Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan: "Looking East" Becomes Middle Eastern Geopolitical Choice China | Cooperation | Politics

Introduction: In recent years, China has actively developed relations with Middle Eastern countries and closely cooperated with Saudi Arabia in industries such as petrochemicals and communications. In March of this year, China facilitated a historic reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Saudi Arabia has also taken an important step towards joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The "special relationship" between Saudi Arabia and the United States will continue, but China has heard strong calls to strengthen regional cooperation in its deep participation in Middle East economic affairs. Turning to China is becoming a new geopolitical choice in the Middle East, causing an impact on the "Western centric" pattern.

This July, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit will be held in New Delhi, India. The summit will make several major decisions, one of which is about Saudi Arabia joining the organization. On March 29th, Saudi King Salman signed a memorandum of understanding recognizing Saudi Arabia's status as a dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, marking the country's first step towards becoming a formal member of the organization.

In the 1980s, the Soviet Union and China launched the final round of negotiations on the border issue between the two countries, laying the foundation for the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia and Central Asian countries continued to negotiate with China. After the territorial issue was resolved, all parties decided to deepen regional cooperation, which led to the emergence of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2001.

Since then, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has developed rapidly. At present, the formal member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization include China, India, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; Besides Saudi Arabia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Egypt, Nepal, Qatar, Sri Lanka and Türkiye are also SCO dialogue partners; Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and Mongolia are observer countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The SCO Summit held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan in 2022 initiated the process of accepting the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Maldives, and Myanmar as new dialogue partners.

In March of this year, with China's mediation, Saudi Arabia and Iran reached a historic reconciliation and agreed to restore diplomatic relations between the two countries. Considering the strategic partnership between Saudi Arabia and the United States, China's role in facilitating reconciliation between the two Asian powers in Saudi Arabia has surprised many. In addition, China's series of diplomatic measures in the Middle East have also brought the relationship between major Middle Eastern powers and China closer. Most outsiders believe that this move is another example of the Middle East's gradual shift from relying on the West to deepening cooperation with growing Asian powers.

The key direction of Saudi Arabia's development has always been closely linked to the interests of China and Russia, the major members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. China is Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner, with a bilateral trade volume of 87.3 billion US dollars in 2021.

The petrochemical industry is a key area of cooperation between Saudi Arabia and China. For example, in March this year, Saudi Aramco announced its acquisition of 10% of China Rongsheng Petrochemical for $3.6 billion, and also established a joint venture with two other Chinese companies in Panjin, Liaoning to build a large-scale refining and petrochemical complex. After full operation, it is expected that the facility will have a daily crude oil processing capacity of 300000 barrels. These transactions are expected to increase Saudi Aramco's daily supply of approximately 690000 barrels of crude oil to China. In addition, customs data shows that Saudi Arabia's oil exports to China in 2022 are four times that of exports to the United States.

The United States has been closely monitoring China's activities in the Middle East and has warned that cooperation with China may affect the relationship between the United States and countries in the Middle East. For example, the United States has expressed concerns about the use of Huawei 5G technology by countries in the Middle East and is pressuring the United Arab Emirates to shut down so-called "Chinese security facilities.".

Although Saudi leaders are angry with US policies and have expressed their dissatisfaction, Saudi Arabia will not easily withdraw from the "special relationship" established with the United States in the early 1930s. The US military base is still operating in Saudi Arabia, and both sides held a joint anti drone exercise at the end of March. In the same month, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Riyadh Airways also announced their intention to purchase 121 Boeing 787 aircraft worth a total of $37 billion.

Saudi Arabia's accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization may seem like an ordinary political bargaining, but in reality, it will have a profound impact, as China will play a leading role this time. As China becomes more involved in the Middle East economy, it has heard a strong call to strengthen regional cooperation. Is Saudi Arabia's move a direct challenge to the Western centered world order? Shouldn't Western countries reflect on why Asian countries are unwilling to cooperate with them?

The official attitude of the United States towards Saudi Arabia's accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is quite cautious. On March 29th, when Saudi Arabia approved its accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Patel gave a very brief response on the matter: "This is not a new thing, Saudi Arabia's status as a dialogue partner in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has been put on hold for a period of time... Every country has the right to develop its own relations." Some US media pointed out that Patel is trying to downplay the impact of this matter.