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Saudi king heads to China
for oil talks
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SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Thursday, January 19, 2006
ABU DHABI — An upcoming visit to China by the new king of Saudi Arabia marks the kingdom's shift in policy in response to Beijing's increasing demand for oil.
Saudi King Abdullah plans to visit Beijing on Jan. 22 to discuss energy
cooperation. Officials said the visit would last two days and including
meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao.
The visit would be the first by a Saudi ruler since Beijing and Riyad
formed diplomatic relations in 1990, Middle East Newsline reported.
For years, Riyad refused to establish
formal ties with Beijing because of its communist ideology. But over the last five years, Saudi Arabia has become a leading oil
supplier of China, and trade exceeded $16 billion in 2005.
Beijing has
sought to increase energy imports from Saudi Arabia as well as Iran.
Copyright © 2006 East West
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