The president of China met with the de-facto ruler of Saudi Arabia to announce a new era in relations between the two countries.
There are new trade and energy deals and alignment on issues such as the war in Yemen.
It was the culmination of years of alliance building between Beijing and Riyadh.
Both Saudi Arabia and China use each other. Jon Alterman told Insider that they have significant economic ties.
Altermann, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, said that they both agree that a unipolar world led by the United States would undermine their interests.
The US is blocking further expansion of China's influence.
Saudi Arabia sees economic opportunity and the chance to take a bigger role in the world.
It's not just China that Saudi Arabia is getting closer to, it's also Russia.
Saudi Arabia and Russia announced in October that they were cutting oil production. It was thought that the Biden administration had secured a secret agreement with Saudi Arabia to increase production in order to ease domestic inflation.
Efforts by Biden to choke off Russia's income from international oil sales were frustrated by the deal.
In a possible concession to the US, Saudi Arabia refused to join in the sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian crisis.
In March, Crown Prince Mohammed told The Atlantic that he doesn't care if Biden misunderstands him, as long as Biden doesn't.
When Biden visited in July, he received a subdued welcome.
Riyadh dislikes US criticism of its human-rights record and suppression of dissent.
The Saudi Arabia's leadership was incensed by Biden's pledge to make the kingdom a "pariah" over the killing of the dissident.
Alterman said that the crown prince has more affinity with the ideology of other strongmen than with the US.
Alterman said that they shared a belief that a significant liberalization of domestic life would lead to social chaos.
He said that the Saudi leadership is more comfortable with the Chinese path of tightly managed politics, strong state-owned companies, and limited social freedoms than with the US model.
Giorgio Cafiero, CEO of Gulf State Analytics, said that Crown Prince Mohammed was happy to reciprocate by remaining silent on China and Russia.
Crown Prince Mohammed did not speak out about the treatment of the Uyghur Muslims in China.
Despite being the birthplace and spiritual center of Islam, Saudi Arabia has not interfered despite being labelled a genocide by the US and others.
The model of "authoritarian stability" is believed by Saudi Arabia, China, and Russia. The King of Saudi Arabia is the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, which are located in Mecca and Medina.
He said that the governments prioritize stability above individual rights and their approaches to security resonance with each other.
Saudi Arabia sees forming ties with Russia and China as sound diplomatic and economic.
The nation is reacting to changing rhetoric from Washington, DC, and declining US commitment to the Middle East.
According to Alterman, the Saudis fear it is reckless to rely entirely on the United States, whose long-term intentions they distrust and whose attitude towards Saudi Arabia has changed dramatically between the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations.
Analysts agree that the US and Saudi Arabia have common interests that will ensure the survival of the alliance.
For the US, the Saudis are an important ally in a turbulent region, and a crucial counterbalance against Iran.
The United States is Saudi Arabia's most important ally. The United States is the only country that can defend the country from external threats.
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