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[1번지이슈] China, Saudi Arabia agree on investment worth 65 trillion won … Challenge to US dollar dominance

■ Broadcasting:

■ Facilitator: Jung Young-bin, Lee Yoon-ji anchor

■ Appearance: Professor Kim Han-kwon, Korea National Diplomatic Academy

Chinese President Xi Jinping was highly respected in Saudi Arabia, signed a ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement’ and even gained business rights on an astronomical scale.

President Xi is expanding his influence in the Middle East by holding talks with the leaders of 17 Arab countries.

He seems to be trying to check US hegemony.

For more details, let’s find out with Professor Kim Han-kwon of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy.

Hello.

This is President Xi Jinping’s first visit to Saudi Arabia since 2016. During this trip, the Comprehensive Partnership Agreement was signed, along with 34 agreements related to energy, information and communication, and infrastructure. The scale is 100 billion Syrian, and our money reaches 38 trillion won. Can you explain the meaning of this big deal?

China and Saudi Arabia also agreed to strengthen cooperation to maximize mutual benefits by linking the ‘One Belt, One Road’ and ‘Vision 2030’, which are national projects. How should we interpret this?

Chinese President Xi Jinping also attended the first China-Gulf Arab National Cooperation Council Summit in Saudi Arabia following the summit with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia. Also, through individual summits with the leaders of the Arab League as well as the GCC, it was also seen to show off China’s growing influence in the region?

China also announced its intention to pay for crude oil in Saudi Arabia in Chinese yuan rather than dollars. Is changing the payment method meant to damage the US dollar’s status as a key currency and reveal an intention to internationalize the renminbi?

Meanwhile, it is known that Chinese telecommunications equipment company Huawei’s plan to build a cloud and high-speed internet complex in Saudi Arabia is also included in the agreement between the two countries. Since Huawei is a company shunned by the US and its Western allies for security threats, does it seem symbolic?

In addition, China and Saudi Arabia agreed on the principle of “non-interference” in the internal affairs of the United States. The United States raised human rights issues in relation to China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region, and in relation to Saudi Arabia, it made an issue of Khashoggi’s murder. Do you think that the two countries have sent a strong message about the criticism of the United States on human rights issues?

During this visit, attention was also paid to the escort of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s private plane, the escort of the royal guard, and the review of the honor guard. It was very different to when US President Joe Biden visited Saudi Arabia this summer. How do you see the background of providing such a special protocol?

Originally, the United States and Saudi Arabia are traditional allies. However, there has been a change in the alliance between the two countries, ‘the United States which needs oil’ and ‘Saudi Arabia which needs America’s security guarantee’. China appears to be leveraging its influence in the Middle East while the United States and Saudi Arabia are estranged?

It seems that Saudi Arabia also has an intention to reduce the influence of the United States by attracting China?

The international situation is also changing rapidly as Saudi Arabia joins the United States to contain China. Korean companies, which promote the large-scale construction of Neom City with Saudi Arabia, also seem urgent to identify risks from the conflict between the United States and China.

The US Assistant Secretary of State is visiting Korea for 2 nights and 3 days. With Laura Rosenberger, senior director of China and Taiwan at the White House National Security Council, I will visit Korea, China, and Japan one after the other. What do you think is the purpose of your visit to East Asia during this period?

The top representatives of the United States, Japan and North Korea will also meet in Jakarta, Indonesia for two days from today. The face-to-face meeting between North Korea’s nuclear issue representatives from Korea, the United States and Japan is the first in three months since last September. On the 8th, there was also a video conference between the US and China’s top nuclear negotiators. How do you see the impact that Korea-US-Japan cooperation and China’s successive opposition will have on Korean Peninsula issues in the future?

Yonhap News TV article inquiries and reports: Kakao Talk/Line jebo23

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