United States Approves 2 Billion Dollars in Arms for Saudi Arabia as China Courts North Korea

Two diplomatic moves on the same day showed how major powers are reinforcing their alignments as the Middle East conflict continues. The United States State Department approved nearly 2 billion dollars in weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, a step it said would support American foreign-policy goals by improving the security of a major non-NATO ally in the Gulf. The timing, during open fighting with Iran, ties Washington more closely to the Gulf monarchies.

China, meanwhile, sent a senior delegation to North Korea. Al Jazeera reported that Wang Huning, described as China's fourth-highest-ranked official, held talks with a top official of North Korea's governing party, a visit that signals Beijing's effort to keep Pyongyang aligned with China.

Neither move is decisive on its own, but together they show the United States arming its regional partners while China strengthens ties with its own, the pattern of a world sorting into competing security groupings.