Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping touched down Riyadh on Wednesday to cement “milestone” relations between the two nations, after Saudi leaders snubbed U.S. President Joe Biden in a similar state visit in July.

Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) is expected to offer Xi a lavish welcome ahead of a series of bilateral talks, where the two are expected to deepen ties and ink billions in economic agreements, according to Reuters. The Saudis have painted the meeting as a repudiation of foreign attempts to meddle in Riyadh’s internal politics, a possible allusion to Biden’s repeated characterization of the kingdom as a “pariah” and human rights offender.

The meeting represents an “an epoch-making milestone in the history of the development of China-Arab relations,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Wednesday.