Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Thursday for a two-day state visit amid high tensions between the United States and the two countries, according to a source with knowledge of the trip, an Arab diplomatic source and two senior Arab officials.
Xi’s trip to Riyadh will include a China-Arab summit and a China-GCC conference, according to the four sources.
At least 14 Arab heads of state are expected to attend the China-Arab summit, according to the Arab diplomatic source who described the trip as a “milestone” for Arab-Chinese relations.
The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Rumors of a Chinese presidential visit to the US’ largest Middle East ally have been circulating for months, but are yet to be confirmed by the governments of Saudi Arabia and China. Beijing has not made an official announcement that Xi will visit Saudi Arabia.
Credit: cnn.com
