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Saudi Arabia plans to host a Chinese-Arab summit on Dec. 9 attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to the kingdom, three Arab diplomats in the region familiar with the plans said on Wednesday.

Xi is scheduled to arrive in Riyadh on Dec. 7, two of the diplomats and a fourth source with direct knowledge of the visit said, on a trip that comes at a sensitive time for Saudi-U.S. relations that have been strained by a dispute over energy supplies and concerns over growing Chinese influence in the Middle East.

Invitations have gone out to leaders in the Middle East and North Africa for the Chinese-Arab gathering, the diplomats said.

The Saudi government communications office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Xi's visit or summit timing. The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a query on Xi's trip.

The Chinese delegation is expected to sign dozens of agreements and memoranda of understanding with Gulf nations and other Arab states covering energy, security and investments, the diplomats said without elaborating.

Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs Adel Al-Jubeir earlier this month told Reuters that strengthening trade ties and regional security would be priorities in the visit, which is also expected to include a China-Gulf summit alongside the wider Arab gathering.

"The level of representation depends on each country with many Arab leaders expected to attend, others would send at least their foreign ministers," one of the Arab diplomats told Reuters.

Xi's trip comes against the backdrop of Washington's strained ties with both Beijing and Riyadh over differences on human rights and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and as Western countries face rising economic competition from China, which they say uses its economic might as diplomatic leverage.

Gulf Arab states have in the past few years been strengthening links with China and Russia at a time of growing regional doubts about the commitment of key security partner the United States to the region.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have resisted U.S. pressure to "choose sides" when it comes to their ties with China, a major trade partner, and Russia, a fellow member of the OPEC+ oil producer alliance.

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration was angered by the OPEC+ decision in October to cut output targets despite U.S. objections, further fraying long-standing ties with Saudi Arabia that Biden had tried to mend during a thorny visit to the kingdom in July. (Reuters)

Moscow has sent India a list of more than 500 products for potential delivery including parts for cars, aircraft and trains, four sources familiar with the matter said, as sanctions squeeze Russia's ability to keep vital industries running.

The list, a version of which has been seen by Reuters in New Delhi, is provisional and it is unclear how many of the items will eventually be exported and in what quantity, but an Indian government source said the request was unusual in its scope.

India is keen to boost trade in this way, said the source, as it tries to narrow a ballooning trade deficit with Russia. Some companies have expressed concern, however, about potentially falling foul of Western sanctions.

An industry source in Moscow, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Russia's Ministry of Industry and Trade asked large companies to supply lists of raw materials and equipment they needed.

The source added that further discussion would be needed to agree specifications and volumes and that the outreach was not limited to India.

Russia's Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Indian foreign and commerce ministries and the prime minister's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Russia's requests were made weeks ahead of Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar's visit to Moscow starting Nov. 7, two of the Indian sources said. It was not immediately clear what was conveyed by New Delhi to Russia during the visit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has not joined Western countries in openly criticising Moscow for the war in Ukraine, and has sharply increased purchases of Russian oil that have cushioned it from some of the impact of sanctions.

During the Moscow visit, Jaishankar said India needed to boost exports to Russia to balance bilateral trade that is now tilted towards Russia.

He was accompanied on the visit by senior officials in charge of agriculture, petroleum and natural gas, ports and shipping, finance, chemicals and fertiliser, and trade - which he said showed the importance of ties with Russia.

RUSSIA'S STRUGGLES

Western sanctions have crippled supplies of some crucial products in Russia.

Airlines are experiencing an acute shortage of parts because almost all planes are foreign-made. Car parts are also in demand, with global automakers having left the market.

A source in Russia's car sales industry said the trade ministry had sent a list of car parts needed to corresponding ministries and state agencies in other countries, including India.

The list of items from Russia, which runs to nearly 14 pages, includes car engine parts like pistons, oil pumps and ignition coils. There is also demand for bumpers, seatbelts and infotainment systems.

For aircraft and helicopters, Russia requested 41 items including landing gear components, fuel systems, communication systems and fire extinguishing systems, life jackets and aviation tyres.

Also on the list were raw materials to produce paper, paper bags and consumer packaging and materials and equipment to produce textiles including yarns and dyes, according to the document reviewed by Reuters.

Russian metals producers like nickel and palladium giant Nornickel (GMKN.MM) have said Western sanctions and self-sanctioning by some suppliers have made it difficult for industrial companies to obtain imported equipment, spare parts, materials and technologies in 2022, posing a challenge to their development programmes.

The list includes nearly 200 metallurgy items.

Russia has been India's largest supplier of military equipment for decades and it is the fourth-biggest market for Indian pharmaceutical products.

But with purchases of Russian oil soaring and coal and fertiliser shipments also strong, India is looking for ways to rebalance trade, the first Indian government source said.

Indian imports from Russia have grown nearly five times to $29 billion between Feb. 24 and Nov. 20 compared with $6 billion in the same period a year ago. Exports, meanwhile, have fallen to $1.9 billion from $2.4 billion, the source said.

India is hoping to boost its exports to nearly $10 billion over coming months with Russia's list of requests, according to the government source.

But some Indian companies are reluctant to export to Russia over fears of being sanctioned by the West, the lack of clarity over payments and challenges to securing insurance.

"There is a hesitancy among exporters ... particularly on sanctioned items," said Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), a body supported by India's commerce ministry.

Sahai, who is aware of Russia's request, said even small- and medium-sized exporters who could meet some of the requests and had previously exported to Iran after Western sanctions, were not enthusiastic.

Large Indian lenders are also reluctant to process direct rupee trade transactions with Russia, months after the mechanism was put in place, for fear of being sanctioned. (reuters)

From Sydney to Toronto, mainland Chinese have stepped up protests this week, with demands to end the world's most stringent COVID-19 restrictions evolving into calls to "free China" and for President Xi Jinping to step down.

Overseas-based Chinese and their supporters rallied in Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong, New York and Toronto, with more protests planned in coming days.

"Free China. Xi Jinping step down," about 30 people shouted in Toronto on Tuesday.

At Harvard University in Massachusetts, dozens chanted: "No more lies" and "no more censorship."

China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Outside the Chinese consulate in New York, hundreds gathered, some waving blank white placards, which have become a protest symbol in China.

Many shouted slogans in Mandarin, criticising China's human rights record and the impact of its zero-COVID policy, which has taken a heavy toll on the economy and people's freedoms.

Some were reluctant to give their names for fear relatives in China could face harassment by authorities.

The anger at home and abroad swelled after authorities reported 10 people had been killed in a fire in the Xinjiang region that many people online blamed on stringent COVID rules, which they said trapped residents inside a building.

Authorities denied that.

Spot lockdowns and frequent virus tests for hundreds of millions have stirred anger among Chinese on the mainland and overseas.

In Sydney, about 200 people gathered late on Monday for a candlelight vigil its Town Hall, police said.

About 50 mainland Chinese students attended the rally, which was the biggest protest by mainland Chinese in Australia, said Chen Yonglin, a democracy activist who promoted the vigil on social media.

Most students covered their faces with masks and hats and declined to give their names. Several said they believed a Chinese embassy official was at the event monitoring it.

"They will try to find out who are the organisers," said Chen, a former Chinese consulate official who defected in 2005.

The Chinese embassy in Australia and the education office of the Chinese consulate in Sydney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

As protests mount abroad, the situation on the ground in China has also escalated, with people in the southern manufacturing hub of Guangzhou clashing with white hazmat-suited riot police on Tuesday night.

'PRAIRIE FIRE'

Social media has played a big role in spreading news of rallies and stirring debate, with thousands of mainland and overseas protesters flocking to audio-based networking app Clubhouse to share their views.

Lucia, a Clubhouse host with 1,800 followers who is based in Switzerland, told Reuters: "The boundaries of my fear are not the same anymore. I used to be afraid of being seen and heard, but now I hope to be seen and heard!"

In Hong Kong, Tiger, a 24-year-old fintech worker from mainland China, was surprised when a flier she helped design to mourn victims of the Xinjiang fire went viral on social media.

She told Reuters she had initially only shared the flier with about 10 friends, urging them to gather in central Hong Kong on Monday night.

"I don't know how it was spread, and I didn't organise it on purpose. But it showed that everyone was already thinking the same thing ... There's no need to incite," Tiger said. "A single spark can start a prairie fire." (Reuters)

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Wednesday will argue the United States must do more to counter China while insisting the world's two largest economies should not isolate from each other.

"We have to run faster and out innovate and keep pushing," Raimondo told reporters Tuesday previewing her planned speech at MIT titled "U.S. Competitiveness and the China Challenge."

The United States and China have sharply clashed in recent years.

"We must bolster our system of export controls, enhance our investment screening regimes, strengthen our supply chain resiliency, and develop innovative solutions to counter China’s economic coercion and human rights abuses," Raimondo will say, according to excerpts released by her office.

In October, the Commerce Department published a sweeping set of export controls, including measures tightly restricting Chinese access to U.S. chipmaking technology, vastly expanding its reach in its bid to slow Beijing's technological and military advances.

"For too long, America’s export control strategy was reactive — focused on preventing China from expanding its technological capabilities after it accessed American intellectual property," Raimondo will say.

China firmly opposes U.S. export controls on semiconductor chips, arguing they hurt Chinese companies and commercial interests of U.S. exporters.

Raimondo said the United States is working with allies on semiconductor tooling restrictions and hopes they "will take steps similar to ours."

Concerns about China helped convince Congress to approve hefty funding for semiconductor research and manufacturing and advanced science. Raimondo said that will help "ensure our future competitiveness and national security."

She added the United States is "exploring new avenues to defend ourselves and others from China’s economic coercion" and cited United States support for Lithuania to withstand Chinese pressure after Taiwan opened a de facto embassy there.

Raimondo said the United States is "not seeking a decoupling from China" but added on "cutting edge technology, that China wants to get its hands on to put into military capacity... We're not going to allow that."

Raimondo in September 2021 said China was preventing its domestic airlines from buying "tens of billions of dollars" of U.S.-manufactured Boeing (BA.N) airplanes. In September, Boeing said it would begin to remarket some 737 MAX jets earmarked for Chinese customers citing ongoing geopolitical tensions.

Raimondo said Tuesday "we need to continue to do business with China and trade with China supports American jobs." (Reuters)