China’s Pull Grows in the Middle East
The key to China’s geopolitical success continues to be infrastructure development
China is kicking off 2022 with a flurry of diplomacy and partnerships in Africa and the Middle East that are ruffling some feathers. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has just finished a trip to East Africa on a charm offensive designed to shore up China’s presence on the Red Sea coast and solidify Bejing’s role in the Horn of Africa. At the same time, China is entrenching its position as a critical player in the Middle East and threatening America’s long-standing hegemony in the region.
The Chinese are expanding their military assistance to more Middle Eastern nations at a time of heightened tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran. As the United States continues to reevaluate its arms sales to regional allies such as Saudi Arabia, China is increasing its export of military technology and hardware. This historic shift is part of a profound geopolitical reformulation in the Middle East.
China’s long-standing interest in the Middle East isn’t new. As the world’s biggest importer of Middle Eastern crude oil, Beijing has long viewed the region as a strategic interest. During the heated debates about Saudi Aramco’s initial public offering, China expressed a viable interest in becoming a primary…
