Middle East

The US’s propensity for spending more than it has has landed it in a US$31 trillion debt. Furthermore, the US’s actions against Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and China have weakened US dollar hegemony. US academic Han Dongping remarks that perhaps the US needs to focus on itself before it begins its sabre-rattling over issues such as the Taiwan Strait crisis.

China’s success in mediating peace between long-term rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran has highlighted the major power’s role as a key player in security in the Middle East. While some international media take it as a sign of China’s ambitions, academic Fan Hongda feels that the peace deal has addressed a common need for all parties, and China has its own way of promoting peace in the region.

By forging Saudi Arabia-Iran rapprochement based on the message that economic development goes hand in hand with security stabilisation, China has just strengthened its image as an alternative to the West in the global south.

A clear theme throughout China’s Two Sessions this year has been its resistance to the US’s attempts at suppression and containment. Lianhe Zaobao associate editor Han Yong Hong notes that while China’s rhetoric against the US has gotten stronger, it has actively shown itself to be a major global player, even in the Middle East.

While China-Middle East cooperation is predicated on strong energy cooperation, other facets will come to the fore as regional geopolitical balancing intensifies. Technology transfer and imparting values for cyberspace are just a few key influences that China hopes to assert in the region. However, an imperative remains that the Gulf looks to the West for its security needs.

Energy security and ensuring that oil and gas retain a significant share of the global energy mix for some time to come are strong ties that bind China-Saudi Arabia relations. Coupled with collaborative opportunities in growth areas such as renewable energy and electricity generation, their partnership seems to be going from strength to strength.

Delivering the keynote address of the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute’s Regional Outlook Forum 2023, Singapore’s former Foreign Minister George Yeo spoke about the ways that ASEAN’s weakness is also a strength in the transition to a multipolar world.

US academic Zhu Zhiqun notes that the US is still trying to exert pressure on its allies to follow its moves to suppress China. However, China is the largest trading partner of over 120 countries. These countries will never forsake their cooperation with China to accommodate the US. In fact, the trend of countries actively developing economic and trade relations with China while maintaining a security partnership with the US looks set to stay.

Amid the US-West realignment, developing countries and middle powers have strengthened mutual cooperation via high-level diplomacy. China’s deepening relations with Saudi Arabia and the Arab world as seen by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent high-profile visit to Riyadh is a key sign of this development.