Saudi China Nuclear Deal | WSJ News Exclusive | Saudi Arabia, With China’s Help, Expands Its Nuclear

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WSJ News Exclusive | Saudi Arabia, With China’s Help, Expands Its Nuclear Program Warren P. Strobel, Michael R. Gordon and Felicia Schwartz WASHINGTON—Saudi Arabia has constructed with Chinese help a facility for extracting uranium yellowcake from uranium ore, an advance in the oil-rich kingdom’s drive to master nuclear technology, according to Western officials with knowledge of the site. The facility, which hasn’t been publicly disclosed, is in a sparsely populated area in Saudi Arabia’s northwest and has raised concern among U.S. and allied officials that the kingdom’s nascent nuclear program is moving ahead and that Riyadh is keeping open the option of developing nuclear weapons. Even though Riyadh is still far from that point, the facility’s exposure appears certain to draw concern in the U.S. Congress, where a bipartisan group of lawmakers has expressed alarm about Saudi nuclear energy plans and about Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s 2018 vow that “if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible.” It is also likely to cause consternation in Israel, where officials have warily monitored Saudi Arabia’s nuclear work.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attended a Group of 20 summit in Hangzhou, China, in 2016. Photo: stephane de sakutin/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images


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