Foreign Minister: Xi Jinping is likely to travel to Saudi Arabia

 Days after winning a third term in office, Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia, according to the oil-rich country's foreign minister.

After speaking with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Prince Faisal bin Farhan praised the "historical and solid partnership" between Beijing and the major oil exporter.

In a video message aired by Saudi television, Prince Faisal said, "Our meeting today comes at a critical time since it precedes the expected visit of the Chinese president to the country.”

According to him, Saudi Arabia is "finalising plans" for summit discussions between China and Arab nations.

Xi, who last week extended his 10 years in office, has only once been outside of China since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak when he went to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in September.

When questioned by AFP about Xi's anticipated visit, the Chinese embassy in Saudi Arabia remained silent. In the meantime, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed to have "no information to share" on the subject.

The proposed visit would occur at a time when relations between Saudi Arabia and its steadfast friend the United States are strained as a result of the OPEC+ cartel's reduction in oil production in defiance of requests from Washington.

The move incensed US President Joe Biden, who travelled to Saudi Arabia in July and embraced de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 37, despite having previously vowed to declare the nation a "pariah" following the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

In China's overall diplomacy, Saudi Arabia holds a "priority position," according to Wang, the official Xinhua news agency reports. In January 2016, a year before Prince Mohammed declared the successor to the king and a period of reform began, Xi travelled to Saudi Arabia. Early in 2019, the Saudi prince travelled to China.