BEIJING – China has upped its imports of Saudi oil significantly, part of abid to draw Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman into its orbit amid an ongoingtrade war with the United States.
Beijing’s crude oil imports rose to nearly 2 million barrels per day (bpd)in October, up 24 million bpd or 76.3% compared to the previous month,Saudi daily Asharq al-Awsat reported, citing China’s General Administrationof Customs.
Two new Chinese refineries – Hengli Petrochemical and ZhejiangPetrochemical – played a major role in the bump, the Saudi daily said.While US sanctions on Venezuela, and to a lesser extent on Iran, haveplayed a role in the Chinese leaning on Saudi Arabia for the crucialcommodity, Beijing is also looking to Riyadh as a key bulwark againstTrump’s trade war.
“China has an interest in making Saudi gravitate more towards it,” aGulf-based economist told Asia Times on condition of anonymity, as he wasnot authorized to speak on the matter.
Beijing upping its Saudi oil imports should be seen, he said, “within thecontext of the trade war.” Risk appetite in Asian markets soured onThursday after US President Donald Trump’s approval of legislationsupporting the pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, triggering fears ofretaliation from Beijing.
The US and China are locked in a bitter trade war that has dislocatedsupply chains and hit economic growth across the world, and Trump’sapproval of the Hong Kong legislation is expected to provoke a strongresponse from China.
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“We urge the US to not continue going down the wrong path, or China willtake counter-measures, and the US must bear all consequences,” China’sMinistry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
For Saudi Arabia, courting China is equally important to securing itsfuture as ties with the West, and specifically the United States – the mostimportant alliance of its modern history – become increasingly frayed.
On a landmark visit to Beijing in February of this year, Saudi Arabia’spowerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged tighter economic tieswith China, brushing aside the plight of the Uighur Muslims facingsuppression and internment over their religious beliefs.
