CAIRO – Premier Wen Jiabao of China, the Middle East oil politics and discussed with Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud at the weekend on a close eye on visit to Saudi Arabia that American diplomats hope will help break away from China ties with Iran. Mr. Wen’s visit to Saudi Arabia, his first in two decades and part of a six-day swing through the area, comes as China faces new pressure to reduce dependence on Iranian oil to reduce in consultation with Western efforts to to punish Iran for its nuclear program. President Obama recently signed legislation that might restrict Chinese access to the U.S. financial system if Beijing does not reduce its trade with Iran and the European Union is considering significant reductions in the purchase of Iranian oil too.
Saudi Arabia, a regional rival, has his own reasons for Iran to dissuade its nuclear program, and U.S. diplomats hope that the Saudis and other Persian Gulf nations will help ensure China, the biggest customers of Iran, on access to alternative oil stocks.
China is an ally of Syria and, together with Russia, one of the two members of the UN Security Council to block consideration of the possible UN action against President Bashar al-Assad of Syria for its deadly crackdown on demonstrators calling for his exit . Saudi Arabia led the Arab states in criticizing Mr. Assad, who also has close ties with Iran.
In a telephone interview on Sunday, Krimly Rayed shell, an official of the Saudi Foreign Ministry, said the two leaders and their delegations had discussed Iran and Syria, and Iraq and the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process. “We obviously made our position very clear on these regional issues,” said Mr. Krimly.
They also discussed business, Mr. Krimly said, noting that Saudi Arabia was the largest source of China’s oil imports. “I think they will increase, but these data are usually left to technical discussions,” he said.
During the trip, from state-run oil company Saudi Aramco reportedly signed an agreement with Sinopec of China to build an oil refinery in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia. Intended to be operational in 2014, the plant will process 400,000 barrels per day.
However, China has shown no enthusiasm for sanctions against Iran. China may not want one of its oil supplies to reduce while the economy is showing signs of slowing. Beijing prepares for a political transition that could make diplomatic averse to controversy, and a vocal Chinese expatriate community in Iran is a force for maintaining the links between the peoples.
sources:nytimes
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