Whether it is the previous cooperation on the space station, the purchase of China's "rainbow" drone, or today's purchase of 052D drive, Saudi Arabia has established a deep cooperative relationship with China.
Especially at the previous Zhuhai Air Show, more netizens broke the news that Saudi tycoons ordered three synthetic brigades from China in one go: heavy composite brigade, medium synthetic brigade and light composite brigade.
Later, there were also public media reports that Saudi Arabia threw 200 million to purchase the entire assembly production line of TB001 twin-tailed scorpion. Although this production line is bought, accessories, raw materials, talents and later training and maintenance need to be matched from China, and this 200 million is only an "entrance fee", and there will be further cooperation in the future.
Recently, the Middle East media said that Algeria plans to order 6 052Ds from China, and Saudi Arabia plans to order 12 052Ds. If this news is true, then China sold 18 052Ds to Middle Eastern tycoons in one go.
Behind this, it also reveals the "arrogance" of Middle Eastern tycoons, and also proves that shopping in China has become the norm.
However, before this order was brushed off, the United States took the lead in jumping out of the hype, and even the US Secretary of Defense was red-eyed and solemnly warned China that China's sale of 052D to the Middle East seriously harmed the interests of the United States, and even threatened to take action to protect the national security interests of the United States.
In fact, the United States is so hurried to jump out to stop China's equipment sales, which is also because of the United States' three panics about Saudi Arabia:
First, the United States fears the rapid development of China's navy. You must know that the development of China's navy was very backward in those years, and even the only aircraft carriers were "second-hand" purchased from Ukraine. But in just over a decade, China's aircraft carriers have grown from scratch, from backwardness to catching up, and even surpassing the United States today in some performance.
Today, the mainland's destroyers have begun to be exported to other countries, which is enough to prove China's naval development strength and confidence. This must be a "threat" to the United States, and every shopping by local tycoons in the Middle East is the biggest driving force for the development of China's navy. This is also something that the United States does not want to see.
Second, Saudi Arabia, as an important military partner of China, means that the emergence of China will affect the "hegemony" of the United States in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia, as the world's largest energy exporter, is also one of the most important allies of the United States. But today's continuous military cooperation with China means that the influence of the United States has greatly declined in Saudi Arabia's mind.
You must know that for a long time in the past, Saudi Arabia has been extremely dependent on US military equipment, so that no one dares to touch such abundant resources in Saudi Arabia. The United States has also repeatedly threatened Saudi Arabia to make concessions on some issues on the grounds of "suspending military maintenance".
Therefore, today Saudi Arabia has also become smarter and wants to get rid of the "house arrest" of the United States by strengthening cooperation with China.
Third, Saudi Arabia's close cooperation with China means that the "dollar hegemony" of the United States will also be leveraged. After all, Saudi Arabia continues to cooperate with China, and will further promote financial settlement, such as using RMB to reduce dependence on the United States.
To put it bluntly, the United States is not only worried that China will rob its customers, but also that Saudi Arabia will become more and more dependent on China militarily, and even gradually get rid of the US military, and then the United States will not be able to control the Middle East unscrupulously.
It is worth mentioning that the 052D destroyer sold by China is also a warship with first-class comprehensive performance in the world, which can be regarded by local tycoons in the Middle East.
The 052D is a modern air defense destroyer equipped with phased array radar and vertically launched area anti-aircraft missile systems, a newly modified version of the 052C destroyer.
Although the tonnage is only 7,000 tons, its combat performance is comparable to that of the Burke-class destroyers. Because in addition to 64 vertical launchers, the 052D can also launch 16 Eagle Strike anti-ship missiles and 48 Hongqi-9B anti-aircraft missiles, and can also carry anti-submarine missiles and short- and medium-range anti-aircraft missiles.
Therefore, the United States must be "panicked" about the purchase of China's 052D drive by the local tycoons in the Middle East, after all, the 052D drive paper data is so excellent, if China is widely promoted in the future, then it will affect the strategic balance of the United States in the world, and even worry that China's rise will pose a threat to the United States in the "high-end arms trade market".