Several factors currently make China an attractive partner for Middle Eastern governments. For starters, China has a dynamic, fast-growing economy and leaders who are highly suspicious of popular uprisings and democratization. Their top foreign-policy priorities are economic connectivity, a secure flow of energy resources, and protecting regional investments. China wants to export goods and commodities, not political ideas, to the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Moreover, like China, many Middle Eastern regimes are trying to strengthen their legitimacy through economic growth and development rather than real political reform. Still mindful of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings across the region, several governments have announced ambitious national development plans aimed at boosting living standards \u2013 such as Saudi Arabia\u2019s\u00a0Vision 2030\u00a0and Kuwait\u2019s\u00a0Vision 2035. China\u2019s so-far successful track record of economic development without political reform understandably holds great appeal for Arab autocrats.<\/p>\n
Finally, stronger ties with China \u2013 and Russia \u2013 are an attractive option for Middle Eastern rulers as they navigate difficult relations with the West. Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman\u2019s trip to Asia earlier this year, just a few months after the murder of\u00a0\u2018Washington Post\u2019 <\/em>columnist\u00a0Jamal Khashoggi\u00a0in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, was a case in point. Shunned by the West, MBS tried to normalize his international image through Asian summitry. A similar logic applied to Sisi\u2019s Chinese forays in the aftermath of his bloody coup in Egypt in 2013.<\/p>\n And although Iran is a qualitatively different case, the country\u2019s growing isolation from the West is pushing it, too, to cooperate more closely with China. Since the US withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions, closer relations with China have been a matter of necessity, not choice, for the Islamic Republic. China, in turn, has taken full advantage and forced Iran to accept its terms for bilateral engagements and trade.<\/p>\n At the same time, China seems aware of its limited ability to play a meaningful role in addressing the Middle East\u2019s intractable political and security issues, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the Syrian crisis. Here, the US is still the primary extra-regional player.<\/p>\n But American strength isn\u2019t necessarily bad news for China: in principle, there should be no major conflict between Chinese and US interests in the region. Despite having naval bases in Djibouti and in Gwadar in Pakistan, China does not aspire to any great political role in the Middle East. Moreover, America\u2019s declared goal of ensuring regional stability, in particular via its security umbrella in the Gulf, also helps to protect China\u2019s economic and energy interests.<\/p>\n Unlike the US, China has no special relationship with any Middle Eastern country. As a result, its approach is highly transactional, avoiding sensitive geopolitical issues and capitalizing on rulers\u2019 discontent with US policy in order to advance Chinese economic interests. In a region as volatile as the Middle East, however, the question is how long such an approach can be sustained.<\/p>\n Galip Dalay <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Middle Eastern leaders seem to be in a race to gain favor with China. While the region buzzes with criticism of US policy, its political elites are busy showering China with accolades and heading to Beijing to sign a wide variety of bilateral agreements. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, for example, has visited China six […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20242,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-viewpoint"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/192.163.207.100\/~timesku1\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Galip-Dalay-e1566653306932.jpg\")
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\n<\/strong>A visiting scholar at the University of Oxford and a former IPC-Mercator Fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP).<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n