Saudi Arabia considers China bid to build its first nuclear plant
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Saudi Arabia is considering a bid from China to build its first nuclear power plant, amid fears in Washington that the Gulf state is edging closer to Beijing.
Saudi officials told the Wall Street Journal that they were exploring an offer from the state-owned China National Nuclear Corp to build a plant near the border with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The creation of a nuclear programme is a major strategic goal of Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince and de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi officials said they were discussing the issue with China to send a signal to the United States, which has demanded a series of major concessions from Riyadh in return for helping it create a nuclear programme.
Washington has long insisted that nuclear aid can only happen if Saudi Arabia does not enrich its own uranium or mine uranium deposits on Saudi soil - two conditions which are not being sought by China.
The Wall Street Journal’s report suggested that Saudi Arabia would prefer to hire a South Korean firm to build the plant and rely on US expertise.
But Saudi officials have reportedly warned that if talks on US nuclear aid continue to stall then they will revert to the bid from China, which is seeking greater influence in the Middle East.
China is already Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partner and earlier this year brokered a major thaw in relations between the Kingdom and Iran, who back opposing sides in the ongoing Yemen civil war.
The government of Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, has also expressed some interest in helping to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
According to the Wall Street Journal, US officials insisted that they were not concerned about Saudi Arabia switching to the Chinese nuclear proposal, which is 20 per cent cheaper.
Any concrete plans for a civil nuclear programme in Saudi Arabia could face stiff resistance from Israel, which is concerned that it could lead to the Kingdom acquiring nuclear weapons.
The talks on nuclear plants coincide with fresh, US-led discussions on a potential normalisation deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which if secured would be the biggest diplomatic development in the Middle East in a generation.
