China’s Expanding Influence in the Middle East: Towards a New Regional Order?

Abstract

This article explores China’s evolving engagement in the Middle East. Historically, Western powers—especially the United States, with Britain and France—dominated the region. China’s recent steps—mediating the Saudi–Iran reconciliation, deepening trade and technology ties, and backing Palestinian statehood—reflect a strategy to build alternatives to US hegemony, grounded in sovereignty, non-interference and mutual benefit, often advanced through Belt and Road projects that stress infrastructure and commerce without political conditions. The article examines how Middle Eastern actors are increasingly turning to China, driven by frustration with US policies that, in many accounts, contributed to instability and violence. Despite this shift, the analysis concludes that the USA remains the dominant power in the Middle East for now, as China’s growing involvement does not yet signal an explicit foreign policy intent to displace the USA, particularly in strategic and security spheres.