Beijing – Chinese State Councillor of National Defence Gen. Wei Fenghe said that both China and Saudi Arabia are strong allies and possess mutual trust. In the last few years, while both nations have been augmenting political ties and in various domains, it is vital to strengthen practical cooperation between the two militaries as well. Gen. Fenghe recently concluded a virtual meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Defence Minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman. Following that, the Chinese Defence Ministry declared this announcement by Gen. Fenghe.
In the meeting, which took place two days ago, Saudi’s Deputy Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman also assured that the military ties with China could be augmented to a higher level. Besides, his Chinese counterpart Fenghe expressed gratitude towards Saudi for its strong support to Chinese policies over Taiwan, Hongkong and Uyghurs. The Chinese Defence Ministry has published this news. ‘China and Saudi must strengthen coordination and jointly oppose hegemonic and bullying practices, to safeguard the interests of developing countries together,’ General Wei Fenghe said. Although the Chinese State Councillor did not mention any nation openly, the Chinese media has claimed that his comment targeted the United States.
Moreover, US President Joe Biden had indicated withdrawing the US army from Middle East countries alongside Afghanistan. As for its preparation, the United States had withdrawn its Air Defense Systems and bomber planes from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Thus, the Middle Eastern nations have lost faith in the United States due to this action by the Biden administration. Besides, it will also pave the way for China to increase its influence in the Middle Eastern nations, the opposition in the United States warned.
Furthermore, the news surfacing about China and Middle Eastern countries over the last two months depicts that the opposition warnings in the United States are turning into reality. Two weeks ago, a high delegation of foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain visited China. This high delegation also included the chief of ‘Gulf Cooperation Council’ – GCC. During this five-day visit, China and Arab nations discussed issues such as crude oil, free trade agreement and strategic cooperation.
The defence cooperation meeting between the senior leaders of China and Saudi Arabia is considered the next step of this cooperation. Meanwhile, over a month ago, news had surfaced about China assisting Saudi Arabia to produce ballistic missiles. Besides, satellite photographs of Al Dawadami had been published to confirm the work in progress for it. At the same time, China is assisting Saudi to build a nuclear project. The developments for it had started four months ago.
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