Strategic Transformations of China's Relations with GCC States

Abstract

The shifting balance of power in the international system, the changes in the regional dynamics of the Persian Gulf as well as the changes in China’s foreign policy strategy and its national interests have led to the expansion of China’s relations with the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The Gulf is gradually becoming independent from the Middle East in China’s foreign policy strategy in accordance with its evolving national interests in the immediate region. The weakening of the US power and the asymmetrical nature of the relations between the US and the GCC countries provides room for strategic maneuvering for China. The Gulf countries also try to diversify their strategic partners, and they regard China as a promising candidate for a potential strategic partnership, through which they could develop a deeper, and multilayered relationship. This chapter analyzes the motivations and mechanisms of the transformation in the relations between China and the GCC states from an economic-based unidimensional relationship to a multilayered partnership. Thus, by focusing on the strategic, political, and economic objectives of China, this study explores, explains, and predicts China’s current presence and its future role in the Gulf.