Biden is trying to lure Saudi Arabia's crown prince away from China with lucrative promises, despite once threatening to make him a 'pariah'

• The Biden administration is concerned about China's growing influence in the Middle East.
• White House official Jake Sullivan was dispatched to Saudi Arabia last weekend.
• The growing alliance between China and US allies in the region was likely at the top of his agenda. 

It had looked like President Joe Biden's patience with Saudi Arabia's ambitious and impulsive de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had run out. 

The Saudis had infuriated the US last year by siding with Russia to cut oil production in a move that Biden feared would spike domestic inflation.