Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, shakes hands with Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Riyadh, after his arrival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022. (Saudi Press Agency via AP)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 8:13 PM PT – Wednesday, December 7, 2022

China and Saudi Arabia are looking to deepen their relations by discussing oil trading.

Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday evening for a summit with leaders of Arab states. This meeting posed a foreign policy challenge for the United States.

Xi arrived in Riyadh. There, he was greeted by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al Saud and the head of the kingdom’s sovereign-wealth fund Yasir Al-Rumayyan. The last visit Xi paid to the area was four years ago. At that time he gave $23 billion in loans because he wanted Beijing to become the “keeper of peace and stability in the Middle East.”

Reports claim that Russia, Saudi Arabia and potentially China may be advancing a new initiative to trade oil for gold and national currencies instead of the U.S. dollar.

On Thursday, Xi will meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed and his father King Salman to discuss mutual relations before attending a large gathering composed of Gulf and Arab leaders.

This comes amid tensions between Saudi Arabia and the Biden administration due to the Ukraine War, oil price cap and the warming Saudi-Russian ties.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks during a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on gun violence on Capitol Hill on June 8, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 7:34 PM PT – Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

In a statement on Wednesday, the eight-member committee confirmed the move. However, they denied to provide further details on the topic of investigation. The committee has briefly stated that the case has been extended and that it was originally bought to their attention on June 23rd.

However, the Committee Acting Chair Susan Wild (D-Penn.) and ranking member Michael Guest (R-Miss.), stated that the delay “does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee.” 

Lauren Hitt, a spokesperson of Ocasio-Cortez, commented on the matter.  

“The Congresswoman has always taken ethics incredibly seriously, refusing any donations from lobbyists, corporations, or other special interests,” she said. “We are confident that this matter will be dismissed.”

The House Ethics Committee, which is a nonpartisan independent entity, examines allegations of misconduct made against lawmakers and other House employees. The House is typically allotted an interval of 45 days to review any matter referred to it. The committee may decide to continue looking into a matter after the 45-day mark, but it must announce the decision publicly just like they did in Rep. Alexandria’s case. The House has decided to announce its final course of action after its organizational meeting sometime next year.