China’s Evolving Middle East Strategy: Balancing Act and Pragmatism

The rise of China and its growing competition with the United States have the potential to bring significant ramifications for the Middle East, as two great powers looking into the region for its vast energy resources and strategic importance. While the United States has proven itself to become the traditional security and oil trade partner of the Gulf nations, China has succeeded as the strongest economic partner of the region in the last decade. As a rising power and a newcomer to the Gulf, China aims to probe the limits of its engagement in different fields, including trade, diplomacy, and the security architecture of the region with different moves and motivations. This policy outlook examines how this probing behaviour would manifest in the region and how potential responses from Washington would affect the future course of China-Middle East relations.