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From Energy to Security: Did Biden Get Everything He Wanted From Saudi Arabia?_我的网站
A | 满觉陇的山风拂过层层茶垄，茶树叶子被日头晒得发亮，胡先生站在自家茶园的梯坎上，指了指远处：“那边要是能修一条农用轨道就好了。”这份期许，并非他一人所有。自《政在@》栏目此前就《杭州西湖风景名胜区总体规划（2024—2035年）》（以下简称《规划》）开通民意征集通道以来，陆续收到不少来自“西湖景区原住民”、新纳入保护范围的居民的声音。他们大多不是规划专家，也未必说得清“九大景区”“一张图管控”的具体内容，但他们长期住在那片山水里，那些山脊线的起伏、建筑高度的数字、管控边界的移动等，落在他们身上，就是回家的路好不好走、茶园的水够不够用、夜里能不能睡个踏实觉……一个茶农的“微观规划”茶农胡先生从小生活在满觉陇，12岁搬到城里，25岁又搬回山上。对比过去和现在，他最大的感触是路好走了，但车也多了。 The energy issue appeared to be the real reason behind Biden's visit to the Saudi kingdom, which he promised to turn into a "pariah state" on the campaign trail in 2019-2020. Since the beginning of 2021, prices for oil have soared more than two-fold in the US, prompting the Biden administration to seek ways to convince the Saudis and their OPEC allies to step up crude production in order to bring energy costs down.,"The oil policy in Saudi Arabia pretty much is set," said Dr. Ahmed Al Ibrahim, a Riyadh-based political analyst. "They are monitoring the market and they are floating the market with supply chains consistently with the demand. They cannot overdo that because it does not help the market and the OPEC+ members. And also Saudi Arabia is burdened by contracts where they cannot really actually go by themselves and take the decision. They are part of an OPEC+ and these countries, they said they are very efficient and the energy prices are very good.",The political scientist highlighted that "there is no margin of complimenting the United States just because they needed more oil in the market for whatever reason." Moreover, according to the professor, the oil market is already saturated with oil and further extraction may only disrupt the balance. On June 30, officials from OPEC, Russia and other oil-producing countries confirmed their decision taken in May to increase output by 648,000 barrels per day in August.,"I think most of the OPEC+ countries, they've reached almost the maximum output," explained Al Ibrahim, adding that he does not see a way to considerably step up oil extraction in the foreseeable future.,Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) stated on July 16 that the only thing Riyadh can do is boost crude production from 10 million barrels per day to 13 million per day by 2027, adding that there is no additional capacity beyond that. MBS also highlighted that unified efforts are required to keep the global economy afloat, and that unrealistic policies regarding energy sources could instigate further inflation.,Bilateral Ties, Defense & Energy: Key Takeaways From Biden's Saudi Arabia Visit16 July, 14:40 GMT,Middle Eastern Players’ Security Concerns,Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are seeking the US’ concrete commitment to improve mutual ties. During the July 16 Jeddah Summit for Security and Development, which brought together the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) alongside Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, Biden vowed that the US would remain fully engaged in the Middle East. The US president particularly said that the US would not "leave a vacuum to be filled by China, Russia or Iran.","We will have to take from President Biden's word that America is not turning its back on the region, that America will defend its interests in the region," said Dr. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, professor of political science at Emirates University and author of several books, including The Gulf Moment. "However, the future will reveal to what extent that is true.",Riyadh previously voiced concerns over the Biden administration putting US-Saudi arms deals on pause, as well as the White House's talks over the resumption of the Iran nuclear deal. In addition to that, it turned out in June 2021 that the Pentagon had pulled approximately eight Patriot anti-missile batteries from Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system was also withdrawn from Saudi Arabia at that time, according to the Wall Street Journal.,The professor drew attention to the fact that Washington has recently shifted its focus to Europe and to the Indo-Pacific from the Middle East. According to Abdulla, the Biden administration appears to be preoccupied with Ukraine and its rivalry with China, which is currently emerging as an economic superpower. "So whether America will pay attention to the Middle East in light of all of this preoccupation, that is something we will just have to watch for the days and months and years to come," he noted.,Dr. Ahmed Al Ibrahim echoes the Emirati professor's concerns: while the US and especially its military and intelligence community remain an important ally for Saudi Arabia, Riyadh cannot rely on the rapidly changing mood of the Democratic establishment, citing Biden's recent U-turn.,"Now, Biden is saying all that stuff," Al Ibrahim said. "Let's see if this administration will keep their part of the bargain or in three years another president comes and he decides to basically wipe up everything Biden said or actually recognize the region even more. Saudi Arabia is injured by the 18 months that this administration has ruptured the relationship with [Riyadh]. And we need to be shown some real solid commitment from the US in order for Saudi Arabia to recover from the mistrust and misunderstanding by this administration that did to us in the past 18 months.",Given that, neither Saudi Arabia nor Egypt, Israel or Iraq are going "to put all their eggs in one basket," Al Ibrahim pointed out, in an apparent reference to the potential diversification of diplomatic ties.,Earlier this week, Purnima Anand, the president of the BRICS International Forum, told Russian newspaper Izvestia that Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia are preparing to formally apply for membership in BRICS, an acronym for five emerging economies, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.,Global Power Shifting Away From West, While BRICS Expanding & Increasing Legitimacy14 July, 16:45 GMT,Washington's Politicization of Khashoggi Case,It appears that US President Joe Biden could not help but raise the issue of the killing of Jamal Khashoggi once again during his trip, even though the Saudi kingdom conducted an extensive investigation into the crime and prosecuted eight culprits. Khashoggi's son Salah later announced that the Saudi judiciary had been fair to his family and that "justice has been achieved".,According to the Gulf observers, Biden's latest remark that he considers the crown prince responsible for the tragedy was primarily aimed at his electoral base ahead of the November midterm elections.,"President Biden, even when he is here in the region, has his mind in Washington and is speaking to an audience in America," said Abdulla. "And probably he wants to capitalize on his appearance in Washington, in Riyadh and in Jeddah. And he knows it is a large segment in his own party, the ones to the left listen to him very carefully, evaluating him.",The crown prince's answer was not long in coming: MBS told the US president that Saudi Arabia has dealt with the issue and that the country's justices had a final say.,Riyadh is well aware that the Khashoggi issue is highly politicized by Washington and is resolutely withstanding the White House's allegations, noted Al Ibrahim. In response to the Biden administration's accusations MBS cited the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse committed by the US military and CIA personnel in Iraq in the early 2000s, stressing that rogue incidents took place under the US watch too. Riyadh also drew attention to the fact that in the same year that Khashoggi was murdered, over 248 journalists were killed across the world and nobody is talking about them, Al Ibrahim concluded.,"Did Biden get everything he wanted from this [Jeddah] meeting?" asks Abdulla. "I think if he goes away with the view that he is from now on dealing with a new Gulf that deserves respect and new Gulf leaders who are now not necessarily the same as the old leaders. They have a new agenda. They have a new view. They have their own new vision.",The only question is whether Washington has understood this and will reconcile itself with this new reality, the professor noted.。“以前要走半小时山路才能坐上公交，下雨天就蹭邻居的车去上学。”他说，如今游客从“只有节日才有人”变成了日常流量，双休日、节假日，山路上挤满了骑行的人，“有些骑得比汽车还快，挺危险的。”但真正的困扰藏在更深处。作为“西湖景区原住民”，胡先生家的房屋修整和装修面临多重限制。“车子开不到门口，建材要肩挑背扛，建设成本高不少。再加上世界遗产的高度管控，想扩建基本不可能。”他理解这份保护背后的分量，真正让他犯难的，是另一件事——农业政策在景区里落不了地。胡先生家的收入全靠茶园。按常规农业政策，茶园可以配套一定比例的农业用房、蓄水池、农用轨道、喷灌设施。但在西湖风景名胜区范围内，这些设施往往被挡在门外。“茶园需要用水，蓄水池的配比和实际需求有差距。我们想建农用轨道运输肥料和茶叶，想安装喷灌设施抗旱，都很难批下来。”他说，“山上有些地方连手机信号都没有，物联网茶园更是难以实现。”《规划》提出了全要素保护体系，山体、水体、生物多样性、历史文化都在保护之列。“茶叶是我们祖祖辈辈的生计，茶园基础设施不能等同于一般的建设开发。”胡先生最大的期待，是政策在落实过程中能为农业生产留出弹性空间。
B | 皇城根下的“夜困扰”十五奎巷，南宋皇城遗址核心区。傅先生在这里住了三十年。这次《规划》将河坊街、太庙遗址、南宋御街、三省六部、嘉会门遗址等片区正式纳入西湖风景名胜区范围。傅先生的身份也从“老城南居民”变成了“西湖景区原住民”，他说，改变其实早就开始了——不是从《规划》批复那天起，而是从周边旅游氛围越来越浓那天起。“最大的影响是回家堵车。”傅先生说，他家门口的道路几乎天天塞车，原本五分钟的路程有时要堵上半小时；停车更是“老大难”，邻里之间为抢车位没少闹不愉快。
C | 当西湖的管控半径扩大，日常生活的便利性如何保障？同时困扰他的还有夜间商业的干扰。“很多人只看到景区边开酒吧、开夜市拉动经济的一面。但对于每天住在这里的人，晚上十一二点还能听到外面喧哗，凌晨一两点仍有客人在街上大声说话，这种苦恼是难以想象的。”傅先生说。《规划》明确了要“守护西湖与城市共生的文化特质”，但对皇城遗址片区而言，文化传承与过度商业化之间的张力从未消解。傅先生希望限定夜经济的最晚营业时间，“让我们能睡个安稳觉。”商户眼中的“非遗机会”潘先生在河坊街经营一家古玩店，2021年入驻。
D | 相比原住民对交通和农业的焦虑，他看到的更多是机会。他对《规划》的细节并不完全了解，但听到河坊街纳入西湖保护范围时，他的第一反应是：“能不能借这个机会，让河坊街的非遗传承借势活起来？”在他看来，现在的河坊街商业化气息过重，“同质化竞争严重，流量经济发展迅猛，很多非遗传承‘少人问津’。”他认为，既然要融入西湖保护体系，就不能只划个范围、竖块牌子，而应借助西湖的文化影响力，培育一批有杭州特色和非遗特色的点位。“如果只是把河坊街圈进景区，游客来了看到的还是千篇一律的网红店，那‘并入西湖’的意义就打了折扣。
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