China's Xi at Saudi palace to meet royals on Mideast trip
Chinese leader Xi Jinping is meeting with Saudi Arabia’s king and the crown prince while on a visit to the kingdom
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping met on Thursday with Saudi Arabia's king and the crown prince while on a visit to the kingdom, solidifying ties with a region crucial to his country's energy supplies as sanctions intensify on Russia over its war on Ukraine.
Xi arrived at Al Yamama Palace in Riyadh and was greeted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the king's assertive son who stands ready to rule the oil-rich kingdom in the decades to come. Xi shook hands with the prince as an honor guard on horseback carried Saudi and Chinese flags.
It wasn't immediately clear what the two focused on in their discussions, though Xi in a newspaper column published by Al Riyadh newspaper said “exchanges between China and Arab states date back more than 2,000 years.” The column also quoted a saying by Islam's Prophet Muhammad: “Seek knowledge even if you have to go as far as China.”
“The Arab people value independence, oppose external interference, stand up to power politics and high-handedness, and always seek to make progress,” Xi's column read.
