Sources: Saudi Delegation Heads to China Without MbS Due to King’s Illness
TOKYO/RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia is sending a delegation that includes the kingdom’s investment minister to China this week, four people familiar with the matter said, as the world’s largest oil exporter looks for foreign funding for its ambitious economic transformation.
Two other people briefed on the visit said that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s prime minister and de facto day-to-day ruler, had been expected to lead the delegation to China after the Japan visit. He will, however, stay in Riyadh after his elderly father, the king, underwent medical treatment in Saudi Arabia for lung inflammation, which already made the crown prince postpone the May 20-23 Japan trip.