Gulf states turn to China not US as Iran war escalates

China has developed close trade and investment ties with the six states in the Gulf Cooperation Council – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — since a Gulf-China summit in 2022. Another summit is planned this year in Riyadh but not yet confirmed.

But Beijing refrained from publicly challenging Tehran’s threats to shipping, fueling doubts about how far China is prepared to go to secure the Gulf and its exports.

“The Chinese are trying to be more involved, they are trying to be more helpful,” a second Gulf source said. “But China has turned out not to be as influential as we thought — whether that is a lack of will or a lack of capacity is debatable. What seems to happen when America enters the fray is that superpower calculations dominate over everything else.”

Henry Tugendhat, a China specialist at the Washington Institute, told Reuters that Beijing’s overriding priority is preserving relationships across the region rather than risking diplomatic fallout by openly siding with either camp.

Once Washington became directly involved, Beijing’s calculations extended beyond the Gulf itself to encompass its wider ties and rivalry with Washington.

“Gulf governments can buy Chinese technology, investment and drones, but what they cannot buy is Chinese leverage that operates independently of (its relations with) Washington,” a source with direct knowledge of China’s discussions said.

China’s President Xi Jinping is expected in the United ⁠States for talks with President Donald Trump on Sept. 24. China’s foreign ministry said Xi put forward a four-point proposal to safeguard and promote peace and stability in the Middle East and also proposed backing countries in the region to advance development, security and cooperation.