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Saudis joining Shanghai Cooperation Organization as China bromance blossoms

Russia, China and a number of former Soviet states in Central Asia created the SCO in 2001 to counter US hegemony in the region.

 The national flags of Saudi Arabia (R) and China are displayed from a road lamp at Tiananmen square in Beijing on February 21, 2019. - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is on a visit to China from February 21 to 22. (Photo by WANG Zhao / AFP) (Photo by WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images)
The national flags of Saudi Arabia (R) and China are displayed from a road lamp at Tiananmen square in Beijing on Feb. 21, 2019. — Photo by WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images

DUBAI — Saudi Arabia's Cabinet approved a decision Wednesday to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), inching another step closer to China despite concerns from its traditional ally, the United States. 

The memorandum awards the kingdom the status of dialogue partner in the SCO, a political and security union that spans Eurasia and includes China, India and Russia. The SCO is seen as a geopolitical counterweight to the United States and Western powers. 

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