Prince Mohammed bin Salman is showing himself not to be a terribly wise ruler. As I noted in November 2018, there seems to be a serious fight within the Saudi Family that was covered by the Khashoggi murders, where the older members of the family were attempting to wrest control from MbS in fear that he was doing things that could be detrimental to the long-term survival of the Saud family:
Abdulaziz used the Khashoggi murder to destroy any credibility that MbS had in the Middle East or the Saud family and with that strip him of his power and move in to take his place, bringing with him his reputation of good will towards the Shia and by default, the Iranians. Improving relations with the Shias improves relations with Iran and muddles any joint Turkish-Iranian desires or plans to destroy Saudi Arabia. His actions also allow him to invert the threats of MbS to refuse to buy American weapons. In theory, he is now in a position to say that he not only does he want US weapons, but MORE than before and that he will want a closer partnership with the Americans.
The Saudis come out looking great, like they had a “bad apple” they disposed of and are trying to make a better nation (when in reality they are not, just to have the appearance of it) before the world, Iran is forced to say something nice about Saudi Arabia, America gets to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia and put more troops in the Middle East for cheap oil, and a major internal family dispute is settled. The biggest loser is Turkey, who is going to rant about what Saudi Arabia did but now cannot criticize her for failing to address the matter because she made “reforms” to deal with the “problem” (even though it was all a staged show). Turkey already hates Saudi Arabia so the Saudis could care less about her reaction if she wants to talk so long as they cannot give her a justification for military action, which Turkey hoped to use this for but was tricked by the Saudis as it appears to have been all planned out. (source)
The Saudis are in a dangerous position because they are isolated from the rest of the Muslim world save Pakistan, another nation hated and isolated by the rest of the Muslim world. Their only serious allies are the US and Israel, who do not “need” Saudi Arabia and could turn against her, and to that they both also back Turkey, which is the nation that historically has exerted the greatest dominance over the Muslim world and to that is who the Muslim world is turning to again for leadership as the guardian of global Islam. The Turks are looking for an excuse to attack Saudi Arabia, who they view as dishonest and blasphemers against Islam as well as historical upstarts attempting to usurp what they believe in their responsibility. If Saudi Arabia is a pile of meat, Turkey is holding the skewer waiting to khazouk the royal family and roast them over a hot fire.
On February 23, 2019, I noted that the Saudi royal family was trying to seek a new ally in the Chinese, and why this will likely not work. In a follow-up to that story, MbS has announced another form of self-cuckholdry where Saudi schools will now all teach Chinese:
On Friday Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) met with Chinese President Xi Jingping hours after finalizing a $10 billion deal for Saudi Aramco to establish a refining and petrochemical complex in China. It was the culmination of the crown prince’s two day visit to China, and the last stop in a three country tour geared toward expanding the kingdom’s trade ties in the East, and as both Beijing and Riyadh face mounting pressure from the United States.
The Saudi national oil company Aramco has lately been seeking expansion outside of the kingdom and appears to be maneuvering to benefit from Xi’s ambitious Belt and Road initiative. The deal follows the much more substantial $65bn in deals signed between the countries two years earlier and are part of MbS’ efforts to diversify beyond his borders. Xi and MbS also spoke about combating extremism and joint counter terror efforts — an issue that’s been met with increasingly critical coverage related to China’s well known Muslim Uighur detention camps.
In total, Saudi Arabia signed 35 economic cooperation agreements with China worth $28bn at a joint investment forum during the MbS trip, Saudi state news agency SPA said, on a tour that also included participation of top Aramco executives. The planned site for the new refinery project is the coastal area near Panjin in China’s northeast rustbelt province of Liaoning, an area seen as lagging in growth in recent years.
On counter-extremism, MbS reportedly said, “China has the right to carry out anti-terrorism and de-extremization work for its national security,” referencing the recent controversy over Beijing’s general internal crackdown on its over 12 million Muslim population, mostly concentrated in Xinjiang province.
Following a tour of the Great Wall, President Xi Jinping told the crown prince at a press conference, “China is a good friend and partner to Saudi Arabia.” Xi has in recent years prioritized stepping up China’s presence in the Middle East. He added further, “The special nature of our bilateral relationship reflects the efforts you have made.”
MbS responded by noting Saudi Arabia’s relations with China dated back “a very long time in the past”. He said, “In the hundreds, even thousands, of years, the interactions between the sides have been friendly. Over such a long period of exchanges with China, we have never experienced any problems with China,” according to Reuters.
Related to this, and perhaps the more interesting aspect to the trip, is that cultural exchange appears to have been a key emphasis, given the Saudi Foreign Ministry announced after the Xi-MbS meeting on Friday that the kingdom has committed to implementing Chinese language programs in schools across the kingdom.
The Foreign Ministry announced the effort via its official social media accounts, explaining the kingdom will now include “Chinese language [instruction] as part of KSA’s educational curriculum in all schools and universities.”
The statement emphasized the initiative will “contribute to increasing trade and cultural ties between the two nations.”
Meanwhile Saudi Arabia and China appear to be shoring up ties as both feel the heat of US pressures and isolation: China, amidst an ongoing trade war with the US, and Saudi Arabia after the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year. (source, source)
This is just another pathetic Saudi attempt at a grandiose plan which will inevitably fail.
The Saudis seem to believe they can avoid the US and Israel using her actions to further support Turkey and give the Ottoman menace more room to have influence over affairs in the Middle East. However, this is what is likely going to happen, and given the fact that the US and China are enemies and there is a high likelihood of a major conflict between them within the next decade, any move towards China will result in a further support of the mutual enemy of the Saudis and the Chinese, which are the Turks.
The US already has extensive and long-running operations supporting Turkic nationalism all throughout Russia, Central Asia, China, and Turkey herself. China is historically overrun by the Turks, be they from Central Asia, Siberia, or Japan.
The Chinese military is powerful, but not as powerful as she makes herself out to be, as China is a historically divided nation whose nationalistic impulses result in self-cannibalism that bring about her own downfall and whose remains are consumed by her neighbors.
The Saudis learning Chinese in schools, as well as the attempts to expand the Saudi oil business that was built by the British and Americans is not going to help build closer Saudi-China ties. It is only going to be a justification for more “foreign aid” to the Turks and her cousins across the world from the Americans and her allies, and will only serve to remind the Turks to make the khazouks a little duller and to go a little slower on the inevitable day when they return or are returned to control over Mecca and Medina and they dole out to the Saud family Turkic justice on the end of a stick while the Iranians dance to the sounds of the tar with sadistic glee that drowns out the screams for mercy from the Saudi royal family.