China and Middle East
China systematically and gradually grew its presence in the Middle East. Due to China’s lack of historical, political, economic, technological, and cultural presence in the region, it still seems unlikely that it will be able to replace the USA and Europe in the Middle East in the short to medium term and emerge as a major player in the area. China’s current main interests are maritime security and trade with the Middle East. Maritime and commercial security will support both the security of China’s exports to the Middle East and the security of its imports of energy and raw materials from the region.
China also wants to continue its Middle Eastern development and advance the “Belt and Road Initiative” program. This plan aims to boost global infrastructure spending and connect Asia, Africa, and Europe through a network of land and maritime trade routes. However, the importance of this initiative lies in the strengthening of global economic linkages and the advancement of China’s geopolitical goals. It is crucial to remember that this endeavor started in countries like Russia, Central Asia, and Africa and has now expanded to encompass Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries.
The Middle Eastern countries are drawn to a collaboration with China because of its non-interference in the political affairs of those countries. The Chinese strategy is very different from how Western countries, especially the United States of America, which has a history of military interfering in Middle Eastern countries, conduct their foreign policy. In their interactions with China, the United States, and Europe, the majority of Middle Eastern countries, from Egypt to those in the Persian Gulf, want to retain their political neutrality. Throughout the transition to the future multipolar world, the policy of strategic balancing between the Middle Eastern countries and China, the United States, and Europe has proven to be quite prudent.
While there are now difficulties in the diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and the United States. However, political talks between Saudi Arabia and the United States of America are in progress, and the two countries are trying to patch up their strained ties. Iranian interests lie in considering a balanced relationship with both China and Russia on the one hand, and Europe and the US on the other. Iran should halt its one-sided interactions with both China and Russia. Maintaining a one-sided relationship with China and Russia is a strategic mistake since these countries not only ignore Iran’s national interests but also actively seek to thwart them. Despite the fact that the Iran-China economic agreement has been made public, the Chinese have refrained from revealing its details and putting it into effect. It is a result of the economic embargo and Iran’s flawed regional and international policy.
However, by maintaining political and economic ties with the West, the Middle Eastern nations, particularly those in the Persian Gulf region, have been able to maintain harmonious relations with China and Russia. China has spent billions of dollars in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates at the same time that the US and Europe are making investments in nations in the Persian Gulf.
The long-term cultural influence of the West in the Middle East is one of the issues that will keep the West’s foothold in the region strong in the medium term. The cultural-economic behavior of the people of the Middle East, which is reflected in the behavior of consumerism, as well as the dominance of the Western cultural belief of the citizens of the Middle East, is another factor of the software power of the West in the Middle East. Changing the economic and cultural behavior of the citizens of the Middle East and accepting the Chinese cultural way of production, consumption and organization requires a long-term process.
How the reproduced Chinese modern-postmodern culture will be created is a complex and ambiguous issue for now. Will China be able to present to the world a new and attractive culture based on Chinese tradition and combining it with today’s modern culture to make a cultural impact in the global arena as well as in the Middle East? Probably, the birth of such an attractive culture is not possible in the short and medium term. Therefore, considering the step-by-step presence of China in the Middle East and the mediation between Iran and Saudi Arabia, as well as China’s proposal to reduce the tension between Israel and the Palestinians, it is still too early for Chinese diplomacy to replace the diplomacy of the United States of America and Europe in the Middle East.
China, economy, and Middle East
China’s recent diplomatic efforts in mediating between Iran and Arabia drew all attention to China and its role in the Middle East, and even many political experts praised China’s diplomatic role. However, before China’s involvement in this matter, extensive efforts were made by Iraq and Oman to re-establish relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and finally, with the efforts of China, Iran and Saudi Arabia resumed their diplomatic relations. However, despite this diplomatic effort, China places a high priority on its Maritime security and trade ties with the Middle Eastern nations. Among them, China is one of Saudi Arabia’s major trading partners.
In 2021, the trade between Saudi Arabia and China was about 87 billion dollars, of which China exported 30 billion dollars of goods to Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia imported 57 billion dollars of goods, the majority of which was oil from Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Investment Fund has invested billions of dollars in China, and China has invested in Saudi Arabia with a contract in the field of solar energy to produce 300 megawatts of electricity and has partnered with 49% of the share of EKWA, a company that invests in the field of renewable energy. In addition, China has signed a contract worth 500 million dollars for iron extraction with Saudi Arabia.
In comparison to Saudi Arabia, the share of Iran’s trade with China is at a much lower level compared to Saudi Arabia. Iran’s import from China in 2022 will be equal to 890 million dollars, and its export to China will be equal to 350 million dollars. Although not much is known about China’s 25-year investment contract in Iran, which is said to be worth 400 billion dollars, according to many experts, this contract can increase China’s influence in Iran and, naturally, in the Middle East. China has invested in other Middle Eastern countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, and Iraq, and in recent years the import of energy and raw materials from these countries to China has increased.
China has taken several recent moves, including providing Turkey and Egypt with financial aid to help them pay their debts. China is working to grow the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, persuade Middle Eastern nations to join, and will thereafter improve its political and economic position with the Middle Eastern nations’ admission to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
On the other hand, by increasing its political, economic, and military relations with the countries of the Middle East, China wants to prevent these countries from joining NATO.
Due to the significant number of military purchases made in the Middle East, particularly by the wealthy countries of the Persian Gulf, China has begun to compete with Western nations in the export of weapons. China has recently exported drones to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Jordan, and Oman, according to a report on the American website Defense News, while Egypt and Saudi Arabia are in talks with China to purchase the Chengdu-J10C advanced fighter. The Middle East countries adhere to the policy of purchasing weapons from China as part of their plan to lessen their political reliance on the United States of America and Europe.
The gradual shift in Saudi Arabia’s economic strategy toward the United States of America, however, is striking. Saudi Arabia signed military agreements with China and Russia in response to a decline in oil production in spite of US threats. The two biggest oil importers from Saudi Arabia, China, and India, have been informed that going forward, no transactions involving oil will be conducted in dollars. and payments for oil with these two nations will be made in Indian rupees and Chinese yuan. If oil trades with all BRICS nations were conducted in their own currencies, the US will lose 7 trillion petrodollars as a result. Consequently, the American economy will experience difficulties. The West’s reliance on Saudi oil will likely decline now that Saudi Arabia is aware that the United States and European nations will switch from oil and gas to renewable energy sources in the coming years. Saudi Arabia has therefore increased its oil exports to Asian nations in recent years, particularly China and India. Saudi Arabia has also declared its membership in the BRICS currency basket, which will include the currencies of South Africa, China, India, Brazil, and Russia. The dollar will lose more ground if Saudi Arabia joins the BRICS currency basket because fewer transactions in dollars will take place between Saudi Arabia and Europe and the USA.
Conclusion
China will need to play a more active role in the Middle East and globally in the future due to the growth and expansion of its economy and China’s gross domestic output will surpass that of the United States, this will further challenge the American political strategy in the region. However, in the medium term, China will not be able to take the place of the United States of America in the Middle East due to the causes listed above. In terms of economic ties, the efforts made by China and the BRICS members to replace the dollar with a new currency and the rise in oil trade with Middle Eastern oil-producing nations are noteworthy. The dominance of the dollar will be challenged because Saudi Arabia is using the BRICS currency or a basket of currencies from the BRICS member countries, which has reduced the number of transactions with the dollar. China’s recent attempt to create an international payment system to replace SWIFT could challenge the financial infrastructure established by the United States.
But what is very important for China in the Middle East in the short and medium term is commercial, maritime, and economic security. The consequence of this will be China’s political influence in the Middle East in the long run. However, China’s relationship and proximity to Middle Eastern nations will help the United States of America in the short run to resolve issues. China may be able to challenge the position of the United States of America and Europe in the Middle East in the medium term, but it will take a long time for China to develop an appealing, contemporary culture as a soft power, and oppose the alluring Western culture on globally and particularly in the Middle East.
In the short and medium terms, I believe that America will continue to be the dominant power in the Middle East. Additionally, even if it withdraws from the region, the US will work to replace Abrahamic-NATO-. Additionally, if Abrahamic-NATO fails, it will take steps to establish a dual containment and open a chasm between Middle Eastern nations in order to facilitate new alliances. It is important to note that this concern should be brought up and questioned: Will not the systemic similarities speed up China alliance with the authoritarian governments in the region and will strength a political-economic-military ties, if the majority of authoritarian regimes in the Middle East continue to rule for a protracted period of time, i.e., in the long run? If not, how closely does the pole of the countries in the Middle East cooperate with the pole dominated by China?