Opinion

US-China competition: Washington is no longer the obvious choice for the Middle East

While US still holds considerable sway in region, Mideast countries would rather not pick sides, preferring to work with an array of partners including China

Nations are looking to build their own futures and cannot afford to wait for the US to decide how it will engage

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The national flags of China and Saudi Arabia are displayed at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on February 21, 2019. As the United States becomes more isolationist, Middle Eastern countries are expanding their horizons and seeking strategic partnerships with other countries, including China. Photo: AFP

Mina Al-Oraibi is an Iraqi-British journalist and currently Editor-in-Chief of The National, an English-language daily newspaper based in the UAE

Published: 1:30am, 27 Oct 2020Updated: 4:08am, 27 Oct 2020

The political history of the 20th century in much of West Asia and North Africa can be told through a retelling of the consequences of great power rivalry. The carving up of the modern Middle East following World War I is a prime example of geopolitical competitions playing out on its territories.

After the demise of the Soviet Union, the United States emerged as the primary, if not sole, global power. Yet at the start of the 21st century, America’s role in the region is changing.

Under the administrations of both Barack Obama and Donald Trump, there were active efforts to disengage from the Middle East. The results are mixed, but they have meant that the US is no longer the primary global actor in the region.

Today, as the world battles the Covid-19 pandemic, the US is also engaged in a game of competition with other powers, namely China and Russia. However, much of the Middle East does not want to pick sides, preferring to work with a number of countries like China on finding solutions. Twenty years ago, this would have been unthinkable. Covid-19 has expedited a trend that was already gathering pace.