The Prospects for Chinese Leadership in the Middle East
MANARA MAGAZINE
China’s status as a leading power in the Middle East is a mixed one. Over the past two decades its presence and influence has grown as it has become a major regional trading and investment partner. Yet its regional rise has not entailed a parallel expansion as a military power or security provider, with China largely avoiding direct confrontation with the region’s leading power, the United States.
That is one way to view China in the Middle East. But it is also a narrow interpretation of leadership. Leadership is associated with power and when that is viewed more broadly, then China’s potential as a regional leader becomes clearer.
