On December 7 to 9, Chinese President Xi Jinping was on a state visit to Saudi Arabia. During his three days in Riyadh, he met with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, took part in the Sino-Arab summit and a session of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

This visit has been repeatedly postponed because of Covid-19. Over the past few months, this is only the second time the Chinese leader has left his country. September saw him visit Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, particularly Samarkand, where he took part in the SCO summit. In Saudi Arabia, the Mr. Xi was given a truly royal welcome, which speaks volumes. Perhaps the only one the Saudis received like that was Russian President Vladimir Putin in October 2019. It is apples and oranges as compared to US President Joe Biden’s July visit to Riyadh. And it's not even that the White House head was greeted as an embarrassing relative there, but that the Saudis prefer partnerships with Moscow and Beijing over a political alliance with Washington.

Thus, at a meeting with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, Xi Jinping said Beijing deemed further relations with Riyadh as a priority of its diplomacy in the Middle East, and was ready to move along the national revival track, strengthening strategic ties and deepening across-the-board practical cooperation. China is also ready to strengthen coordination with Saudi Arabia on international and regional issues, as well as promote comprehensive strategic partnership.

The highest-level reception accorded to the President of the People's Republic of China in Saudi Arabia is hardly surprising, as is an event of the kind in these tumultuous times. By the way, it is not Xi Jinping’s first visit to Riyadh, so the point here is not the singularity of the trip itself, but the new stage in creating backbones of the future world order it symbolizes. A few years ago, this visit would have been described in similar terms: the "planet’s largest factory" leader came to visit the "key oil seller". But today it is only possible to comprehend what is happening through the lens of bilateral relations and economy in general.

Yes, the Saudis are still the largest oil supplier to China, and the latter is their main buyer, but this is only part of a complex puzzle, as evidenced by Xi Jinping’s Riyadh meetings not only as part of the Sino-Saudi summit, but also with leaders of the entire half-billion Arab world. Which is worth a lot. The United States is known to have previously considered the Middle East an area of its own and maybe Britain’s influence.

But today, the tables have turned, with Russia and China gaining influence and authority in the region. For instance, Beijing has close ties with most of the 22 Arab League countries, regardless of their political systems or ideological orientation. Huge volumes of foreign trade are complemented by China’s embrace of infrastructure facilities, while in exchange for oil it can offer both money and advanced technologies, military among them.

Interestingly, the recent trade turnover between the Arab states and China has been expanding by leaps and bounds to exceed $300 billion a year. If we take the Sino-Saudi trade alone, it amounts to over an annual $80 billion. Thirty years ago, they started with just some half a million. And now, during Xi Jinping's visit, 30+ agreements worth $30 billion were signed, which is more than the Saudis’ annual trade turnover with the United States.

Let’s emphasize that Chinese money is not politically laden, as the country does not make its investments subordinate to Riyadh's respect for human rights or fulfillment of any other conditions running counter to the principle of sovereignty. And this is the key difference between the Chinese and American approaches, because of which the current visit by the Chinese president is part of Saudi Arabia’s pivot towards multipolarity, namely Moscow and Beijing, even though it used to be America’s key ally in the region.

Remarkably, the more the United States refuses to recognize this transition, the more the Saudis persist in their intention. The more articles appear in the American media about Riyadh’s "treacherous" policy, the more Saudi outlets go beyond diplomatic etiquette. In particular, there has been unprecedented criticism against official Washington and President Joe Biden personally. In turn, the Russian and Chinese leaders are not being lambasted by the Saudi media, which can also serve an indicator of Riyadh's relations with Moscow and Beijing.

At the same time, we emphasize that China, just like Russia, is deepening strategic relations with Iran, the Arabs’ historical rival and competitor in gaining ascendancy over the Islamic world. The Anglo-Saxons portray Tehran as a threat to the Arabs in order to keep dividing and ruling in the Middle East, but Russia and China have no intention to choose between the Arabs and the Persians. Both seek to reconcile their Gulf neighbors. Moreover, strengthened regional positions of China and Russia may eventually alter the entire security architecture in the Middle East, liberating it from the current reliance on the United States. Clearly enough, this process is not going to be an easy one, but the gradual US withdrawal from the region, along with the rise of China and Russia make it quite realistic.

Note that ancient civilizations, like the Chinese and the Arabs, will find themselves ahead of the curve when it comes to building the future multipolar world – this is why Xi Jinping's visit to Saudi Arabia unnerves the Atlantists, primarily the United States, that much. And not just because the Saudis will sell their oil to the Chinese for yuan instead of USD. The latter is being significantly flawed as the world’s key reserve currency. But the main thing is that a growing number of countries have turned their gaze towards the East instead of the West, as once again demonstrated by the Chinese President’s visit to Riyadh.

In conclusion, we shall note that Xi Jinping invited the King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to China. "The Chinese leader has invited the custodian of the two holy mosques, King Salman, to visit China," the Al-Ekhbariya TV channel said in a statement.