Gedaliah Afterman and Allie Weinberger
China’s economic and political engagement in the Middle East has surged over the past decade, particularly in the aftermath of the Arab Spring and amid growing perceptions of the United States’ withdrawal from the region.
China has traditionally tried to maintain a balancing act in the Middle East, developing relationships with all sides while steering clear of the region’s multiple conflicts. With China’s standing strengthening among developing countries, and superpower competition intensifying, it has adopted a more proactive approach to position itself as a potential alternative and a counterbalance to the United States.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), initiated in 2013, has significantly increased China’s involvement in the region and propelled Beijing to become, since 2016, the primary foreign investor there. Initially focused on energy-sector trade and investment, Beijing has broadened the scope of its regional engagement to encompass infrastructure, technologically advanced smart-city projects, innovation hubs and 5G mobile networks.
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