gulfnews : Chinese links with the Gulf remain firmly commercial

China is wrestling with a huge incoherence in its relations with the Arab states of the Gulf. China has a vital strategic interest in ensuring a secure supply of oil, yet it has no geopolitical point of contact with the Gulf states. Their regional and Arab concerns are largely irrelevant to the Chinese as Beijing looks to reinforce its self-perception as the premier Asian power, and one of the world’s two superpowers.
This has meant that China has been able to quietly build a strong commercial alliance with Iran, and also sought long-term access to oil, seeking to manage and develop oil fields in places, including Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, as well as signing long-term supply contracts. But at the same time, China has avoided taking any position on the Gulf states’ political concerns, in stark contrast to the Americans. The Chinese have watched the Americans walk into one Middle East entanglement after another, while they have avoided any such traps and simply kept signing the cheques to keep their oil supplies safe.

* username: rupertbu