On January 15th, the French newspaper le figaro published an article entitled "How the Gulf countries plan to turn their economies to China and Asia" by George Malbrunot. Excerpts from the article are as follows:

In order to reduce their dependence on hydrocarbon fuels, wealthy Gulf countries regard China and even Asia as key partners for economic diversification. As the first China-Haifeng Meeting in December last year showed, Arab countries plan to accelerate their shift to Asia. However, this shift does not mean rethinking the strategic partnership that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have established with the United States for decades for their security.

Fran? ois-Aisa Touazi, one of the executives of French Anlin Investment Company, said: "China has become the largest trading partner of Gulf countries by importing a large amount of oil from them." 2% of Saudi Arabia's oil exports are realized with Beijing.

during the world cup, Qatar signed an important agreement with China to supply 4 million tons of liquefied natural gas every year for a record period of 27 years. Tuazi added, but apart from energy, "we see that their economies are increasingly interdependent, and China companies have a very important presence in all Gulf countries". The United Arab Emirates, in particular, has become an important importer of goods from China.

Under the background of economic diversification, Gulf countries need Asian investment and technology more than ever before, whether it is in 5G mobile phones, "smart cities", network security, agriculture or even entertainment for young people. At the same time, large Saudi companies, such as Saudi Aramco in the oil field and Saudi Basic Industries in the petrochemical field, are investing in refineries in China.

Tuazi believes: "Gulf countries seek two goals: to become centers of attraction and innovation. For them, Asian countries are their benchmark partners, and their relations with Asia are often clearer and more peaceful than those with Europe or the United States. " Europe and the United States sometimes condemn the Gulf countries for violating human rights, as the recent dispute over the rights and interests of foreign workers in FIFA World Cup Qatar 222's stadium construction sites shows.

In its relations with the Gulf countries, Beijing is trying to achieve "dollarization" by promoting the internationalization of the RMB. Saudi Arabia and its neighbors are looking for foreign direct investment, so they are also looking for Asian direct investment. China hopes that the sovereign wealth funds of the Gulf countries with strong financial resources will cooperate more with their own sovereign funds.

Further reading:

Great changes in the world? The Middle East chooses China and Australia rather than being sandwiched between China and the United States

Recently, there has been a general trend in the world. The United States, which forms an oppressive circle by wooing its allies, has become increasingly alienated from its original allies and even resentful.

China was chosen for the Middle East

When the European Union suffered from energy shortage due to sanctions against Russia, Biden's oil-seeking trip to the Middle East was called a "cold visit". Instead, it was cut by OPEC. However, during China's visit to Saudi Arabia this time, four fighter planes were escorted, six protocol escort planes flew with them, 21 salutes were greeted, important members of the Saudi royal family and senior government officials warmly greeted them, and the highest etiquette ceremony greeted them. By contrast, we can see that we are close.

why is Saudi Arabia, as the leader of the Middle East, so courteous to China?

First, China needs Middle East oil, and Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries need markets, which is an important basis for cooperation. These resource-dependent "food-profit countries" also need to find new development paths for future generations and transform their economic models.

Second, China is very friendly to Arab countries, such as FIFA World Cup Qatar 222's abundant China elements, the participation of China, the new administrative capital of Egypt, and the light rail built by China, which provided services for 2 million trips to pilgrimage to mecca. However, the pressure, hegemony and manipulation of the United States made Saudi Arabia and even the whole Middle East countries feel disgusted, and China's principle of mutual respect made all countries appreciate and admire it.

Therefore, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the cartel, Egypt and other countries in the Middle East have gradually shown their willingness to "look east". Originally, Saudi Arabia, a "hardcore ally" of the United States, sought to join two China-led international organizations at the same time, one is the SCO, and the other is the BRICS.

This time, when China leaders visited Saudi Arabia and attended three summits, all the media in the Middle East showed a feeling of anticipation, which is a very good trend for the current multi-polarization of the world.

Everyone has seen the consequences of following the United States. Look at the European Union, which has recently started to take a tough stance against the United States. When the United States follows suit, it will only consume itself and it will be difficult to enhance its influence. On the contrary, countries that have cooperated with China have developed. These countries queuing to join the SCO are keenly aware that the hegemonic strategy of the United States is out of date in the current great changes in the world.

Australia is unwilling to continue to listen to

instead of just Saudi Arabia and the European Union. Australia, which used to be "anti-China Depth Charge" of the United States, has also expressed "infidelity".

Australian Foreign Minister Huang Yingxian called on the United States to attach importance to economic ties with Asia instead of just talking about security cooperation, and said that Australia was "uneasy" about the sharp attack on China by the United States.

Australian Foreign Minister Huang Yingxian

For the sake of the United States, Australia really lost the China market, while Australia got a farce-like "crying to death" from the United States. The United States always promised its allies a blank check, which greatly harmed their interests.

The new Australian government does not want to bear the economic losses brought by the Sino-US game like the previous Morrison government, so in recent public statements, it sang against the American speech.

First, Huang Yingxian's call for regional stability and economic demand implies that the United States attaches too much importance to Australia's status as a "security partner", which is not in Australia's interest. The loss of China market is not only the loss of commodities such as iron ore, red wine and beef, but also a series of losses such as derivative industries of education and tourism consumption. Because of these losses, the Australian government has been protested and opposed, which is a vicious circle.

Second, US Defense Secretary Austin claimed that China was the "biggest threat" to the stability of the Indo-Pacific region, but the Australian side not only didn't agree, but Australian Defense Minister Mars also said that we saw that the rules-based global order in the Indo-Pacific region was "under pressure".

"American priority" determines that the United States will not provide legitimate and favorable trade cooperation to its allies, so there will be greater differences between the interests of the new American and Australian governments. The new Australian government is trying to gradually ease its relations with China, which is doomed to the fact that the Secretary of State, the Defense Minister and the new Australian government sent by the US government will tell the same story.

how long it will take for the United States to turn away from its relatives depends on how far the United States can implement the "American priority".