China’s Energy Need and Engagement in the Middle East Essay

China is a communist nation covering a vast territorial part of eastern Asia and is the most populous state in the whole world. It has been steadfast on matters of economy, hence, proving to be the pillar of myriad world economic endeavors, a matter that has attracted the concern of the superior states on which country is likely to be the world’s superpower (Conduit, and Akbarzadeh,2019).

Thus, raising the superiority issue, and eventually military conflicts. China has been influential in terms of infrastructure, trade, banking, and partnerships. Most recently, it has shown its interest in venturing into the oil business in the Middle East region by partnering with a number of Middle east countries (Yetiv, & Lu, 2007). In this regard, the United States of America has been bothered by such transitions, posing threats to prevent China from making such multilateral moves.

The Chinese One Belt, One Road (OBOR) visionary project is one of the prolific strategies resorted to, by the Chinese government to penetrate the Middle East to venture into a number of economic projects (Ehteshami, & Horesh, 2017). However, some rebellious states in the Middle East decided to mock such connectedness by claiming that China was trying to impose its policies and political dynamics in the Middle East, which could, later on, dominate the oil-rich region (Goldstein, 2015). Such thoughts attracted misunderstandings and conflicts, to the extent of calling for military presence to take charge and contain the situation.

Conceivably, after China enhanced its position in the Persian Gulf region, there are a number of economic dynamics accrued as a result (Tobin, 2018) These include the expansion of diplomatic contacts with the gulf countries, improved economic ties, and advancing the multilateral relationship by enhancing arm sales (Ehteshami, and Horesh, 2017).

However, the fact that Middle Eastern countries are highly dependent on the oil business in their entire economy, hence, forcing China to use a lot of force to dominate the sector. This has caused a lot of friction in such relationships and might cause havoc if plausible policy recommendations are not sketched well (Petranek, 2019). As a result, more military intervention was necessary to restore orderliness in the multilateral endeavors.

References

China’s Presence in the Middle East: The Implications of the One Belt, One Road Initiative, edited by Anoushiravan Ehteshami, and Niv Horesh, Routledge, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, Chap 2, 8, 10. Web.

D. Conduit and S. Akbarzadeh. 2019. “Great Power-Middle Power Dynamics: The Case of China and Iran.” Journal of Contemporary China 28, no. 117: 468-481.

Ehteshami, A., & Horesh, N. (2017). China’s Presence in the Middle East. Taylor & F. Web.

Goldstein, L. (2015). PERSIAN SPRING: The Middle East and US-China Relations. In Meeting China Halfway: How to Defuse the Emerging US-China Rivalry (pp. 163-190). Georgetown University Press

Petranek, Liana M. “Paving a Concrete Path to Globalization with China’s Belt and Road Initiative Through the Middle East.” Arab Studies Quarterly, vol. 41, no. 1, 2019

Tobin L. UNDERWAY: Beijing’s Strategy to Build China into a Maritime Great Power. Naval War College Review. 2018;71(2):17-49.

Yetiv, S. A., & Lu, C. (2007). China, global energy, and the Middle East. The Middle East Journal, 61(2), 199-218. Web.