China’s Growing Engagement in the Middle East
- Economic and Energy Interests: China's growing dependence on Middle Eastern oil and its involvement in the Belt and Road Initiative have solidified its economic ties with the region.
- Geopolitical Ambitions: China seeks to replace the U.S. as the dominant power in the Middle East, playing an active political and diplomatic role.
- Peacekeeping and Mediation: China is emerging as a mediator in regional conflicts, focusing on stability and offering alternatives to U.S.-led interventions.
China’s engagement in the Middle East is growing day by day. From a passive observer to an active participant, China seems to be interested in the region not only to protect and promote its interests but also to replace the US as a dominant player in the region. Earlier, China had its interests in the Middle East limited to economic cooperation and energy trade, but with time, China is becoming a geopolitical power in the region, challenging US dominance.
The Middle East has always been a hub of conflicts and wars. China, being a political power in the Middle East, is increasingly trying to be a mediator in the region to avoid conflicts. As China has its long-term interests, it cannot afford wars and conflicts in the region. That’s why we can see China proactively playing the role of a mediator and peacekeeper.
China’s Major Interests in the Middle East
If we go back to history, China has never played a key role in the Middle East. But this situation has changed subsequently, and we saw a major shift in China’s policy towards the Middle East. The continued presence of China in the region and its desire to be a global leader have led it to actively participate in a region long dominated by the United States. China’s ambitions in the Middle East are enormous and long-term.
China’s role in the Middle East starts as it becomes an oil importer from the regional countries. More than half of China’s crude oil comes from the Middle East. This makes China dependent on the region for its energy supply. And eventually, China becomes equally important for the regional countries as it becomes a major buyer of their oil.
With the economic ascent of China, its trade and economic relations with the Middle Eastern countries were further enhanced. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have become the largest trading partners in the region. Initiated in 2013, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is worth mentioning to highlight its active role in the economic realm of the region. China has vastly invested in infrastructure development in the region. Some of its projects include ports in Oman, rail networks in Iran, and industrial zones in Egypt. China’s strong economic relations with the Middle Eastern countries fostered economic interdependence, further strengthening China’s role in the region.
However, China’s role in the Middle East is not confined to economics. As a rising global leader, China is continuously taking part in the politics of the region. It is diversifying its role diplomatically and politically. The main reason is that being an economic partner of the region has a lot to do with the security and political stability of the region. As it continues its political participation, China’s primary interest is still the core of China’s interest in the region.
US-China Competition
For a very long time, the United States has dominated the Middle East and controlled its security situation. The United States has diverse security interests in the region. The influence of the United States in the Middle East is the result of its very long participation in the security realm of the region. The presence of the US in the Middle East is always criticized as interventionist.
One of the challenges that China has to face in this region is the already established dominance of the US. Although China is continuously taking the position of the US and making itself a leader in the Middle East, the dominance of the US remains. The major geopolitical reality China has to face in the Middle East is the United States. Yun Sun, Senior Fellow and Co-director of the East Asia Program and Director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, while talking at a program held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said, “China is not a determining variable in the relationship between the US and the Middle Eastern countries, but the US is pretty much a determining variable in China’s relationship with every one of the powers in the region.”.
The continuously growing participation of Beijing in the Middle East poses a significant threat to Washington. China is emerging as a new leader in a region that is for very time dominated by the US. US-China competition in Middle Eastern politics adds to their rivalry. Middle East strategy is of greater importance in China’s foreign policy long-term objectives. In a very short time, China has controlled a region where the US has been investing for a long time. Several years ago, Indian Minister for External Affairs S. Jaishankar stated, “For the last 20 years, the United States has been fighting but not winning in the Middle East, and China has been winning but not fighting in the Middle East.
China as a peacemaker in the Middle East
The political history of the Middle East is turbulent. It has always been a center of conflicts and wars. The main concern in the region is its security situation, which has always been a focal point of global politics. The United States has long controlled the area based on its security and military infrastructure. No matter which global power holds the power in the Middle East, it has to face the ever-evolving and sophisticated security of the region.
As China emerges as a leader in the region, one of the main realities it has to face is the region’s security. But China knows how to cope with it. So far, we have seen how strategically China has been dealing with the regional security situation. At this very point, China emerges as a mediator and a peacemaker in the Middle East. The Saudi-Iranian Peace Agreement is a live example of it.
New architecture of Middle East security has also been incorporated into the Global Security Initiative proposed by China. So that forms an opposite model to the security framework that the US has already established in the region. Peace in the Middle East is important for China, for which it is making efforts worth appreciating.
Lastly, China’s response to the recent political developments needs to be unpacked. China’s response to the Israel-Hamas war was very cautious at the beginning. It simply talked about protecting civilian lives and a ceasefire. It also called for a two-state solution. But as the war progressed, China very clearly stood with Palestinians. Beijing’s relationship looked to be warming with Israel before October 7, which now seems to have deteriorated. In this case, China also proposed to be a mediator and focused on maintaining peace and security in the region.
Conclusion
China’s role in the Middle East cannot be ignored whether we talk about economy, diplomacy, or conflict resolution. Its importance in the region is continuously increasing, diluting the US role as a leader in the region. For Middle Eastern countries, China is proving to be the best alternative to the US interventionist leadership. The relationship between China and the Middle East can be confidently called a relationship of strong interdependence.
The author is a BS Computer Science student with a strong passion for International Relations, International Law, and the ever-evolving landscape of global affairs.
