Talks between the countries over yuan-priced oil contracts have accelerated this year, reports WSJ
\n beijing
\nRiyadh is in active talks with Beijing to trade some of its oil sales to China in yuan, Wall Street Journal quoted sources familiar with the matter as saying, a move that would dent the US dollar\u2019s dominance of the global petroleum market and mark another shift by the world\u2019s top crude exporter toward Asia.
\nThe talks between the countries over yuan-priced oil contracts have accelerated this year as the Saudis have grown increasingly unhappy with decades-old US security commitments to defend the kingdom, the WSJ report said.
\nThe Saudis are angry over the US\u2019s lack of support for their intervention in the Yemen civil war, and over the Biden administration\u2019s attempt to strike a deal with Iran over its nuclear programme. Saudi officials have said they were also shocked by the hasty US withdrawal from Afghanistan last year.
\nChina buys more than 25% of the oil that Saudi Arabia exports. If priced in yuan, those sales would boost the standing of China\u2019s currency.
\nIt would be a profound shift for Saudi Arabia to price even some of its roughly 6.2 million barrels a day of crude exports in anything other than dollars.
\nOn Monday, the WSJ reported that Saudi Arabia has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit the kingdom in a trip that could happen as soon as May.
\nThe visit could help the kingdom deepen its ties with Beijing at a time of strained relations with Washington.
\nSince US President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the strategic partnership between Saudi Arabia, the world\u2019s top oil exporter, and the United States has been tested by Riyadh\u2019s human rights record, particularly in light of the war in Yemen.
\nIn an interview with The Atlantic published earlier this month, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said he did not care whether Biden misunderstood things about him.
\nSaudi Arabia is planning to replicate the warm reception it gave to former US president Donald Trump in 2017 when he visited the kingdom on his first trip abroad as president, the Journal report said.
\n\u201cThe crown prince and Xi are close friends and both understand that there is huge potential for stronger ties,\u201d the report quoted a Saudi official as saying. \u201cIt is not just \u2018They buy oil from us and we buy weapons from them\u2019.\u201d
\nThe Saudi government and China\u2019s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Talks between the countries over yuan-priced oil contracts have accelerated this year, reports WSJ beijing Riyadh is in active talks with Beijing to trade some of its oil sales to China in yuan, Wall Street Journal quoted sources familiar with the matter as saying, a move that would dent the US dollar\u2019s dominance of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":249649,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1355,181,4988,4986,4987],"class_list":{"0":"post-249626","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-beijing","9":"tag-dollar","10":"tag-oil-trade","11":"tag-riyadh","12":"tag-yuan"},"yoast_head":"\n