Middle East: Saudi Arabia and China may be forging closer security ties in response to friction between Riyadh and Washington over energy prices and human rights issues, Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper reported.

According to South China Morning, Chinese state media reported that Saudi Arabia bought US$4 billion worth of weapons from China, including drones, anti-ship missiles and anti-drone laser-based systems.

The reports said the order was placed after this year’s Zhuhai air show and included a large number of CH-4 drones, production line TB001 UAVs, YJ-21 anti-ship ballistic missiles and the Silent Hunter anti-drone systems.

The report added that China-made CH-4 armed reconnaissance drones have been bought by Saudi Arabia before and were used in its war against Yemen.

Despite the strained ties, the report added, Saudi Arabia retains its position – held for many years – as the top importer of US weapons, taking US$3.539 billion worth of equipment between 2020 and 2021, around 18 per cent of total US arms sales.

The report noted that the tension between Washington and Riyadh, after the killing of Khashoggi in 2018, and in light of the recent OPEC + oil dispute, made Riyadh tend to diversify its weapons sources, as China is now considered the first alternative.

Biden's Contradiction and Riyadh's Hesitation

The report conveyed the contradiction of US President Biden, who promised to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” country for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi on his campaign trail in 2019, but he agreed to a $3 billion deal to sell Patriot missiles to Riyadh last August.

About 280 air-to-air missiles worth $650 million were sold to Riyadh in 2021. According to the report, China was also looking to sell its FC-31 twin-engine stealth fighter jets to Saudi Arabia.

The report concluded with what Tuvia Gering, a researcher at the  Institute for National Security Studies’ Israel-China Policy Centre, said that Saudi Arabia is likely to be hesitant to buy “big ticket weapons” from China such as combat helicopters, fighter jets, air defense systems, and submarines, unmanned, artificial intelligence technology, autonomous systems, surveillance, satellites, advanced lasers, supersonic, hypersonic but may be of interest in the future.