Why it ‘doesn’t hurt’ Middle East nations to avoid taking sides in China-US rivalry narrative of the West

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

“If the Gulf and others become major players in these countries, that’s going to mean that the state of these countries and regions will become more multipolar,” said Guy Burton, a Brussels-based adjunct professor of international relations and author of China and Middle East Conflicts.

Then “we may well see more transactional relationships developing” in which both China and the Gulf Arab states “look to increase their influence with these regional/partner/debtor countries”, he said.

Growing multipolarity will mean these developing countries will “potentially be able to play their external partners off against each other, to minimise rise and maximise opportunity [of investment, security, et cetera]”, he said.

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Regarding the recent China-Saudi Arabia, Brussels-based professor Burton said that it was “as much about optics as anything else”.

While China has “no intention of replacing the US” in the Gulf and the Saudis “aren’t about to blow up” their alliance with Washington, “it doesn’t hurt” them if Beijing comes across as more powerful or Riyadh seems more independent than they actually are, Burton said.

“It helps them not just in the eyes of the US, but with other partners inside and outside the region as well if they give off this impression,” he said.

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