Why would China want to replace the US in the Middle East?

China stands to gain from the US position and policies in the Middle East, so imitating Washington’s approach would be detrimental to Beijing’s interests

A rational approach to the Middle East for China would be to chart its own course and try a different policy of engagement

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Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan (second right) walks alongside Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang (second left) in Beijing on April 6. China’s role in brokering normalised relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran has bolstered its standing in the Middle East. Photo: AFP

Fazal Shahid is a lecturer in international relations at the National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad, Pakistan, and a Phd scholar in international relations at the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

Published: 1:00am, 5 May 2023Updated: 1:32am, 5 May 2023

China’s latest experiment in the Middle East has left many commentators asking whether China will replace the United States in the region. However, perhaps we should instead be asking whether China is willing to replace the US in the Middle East.

The answer to that is a definitive “no”. China stands to gain from the US position and policies in the region, so imitating Washington’s approach would be detrimental to Beijing’s interests.

There has been much disagreement over whether China’s mediation between rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran is a sign that it has dethroned the US as the leading force in the Middle East. The argument in favour goes that China was able to bring two regional heavyweights to the negotiating table because it is a rising power looking to secure future energy supplies.

Thawing relations between Riyadh and Tehran will lead to region-wide peace, something the US has not been able to achieve since its involvement in the Middle East began in the aftermath of World War II. Because it achieved the impossible, the key to future regional and global peace lies with China.