Navigating troubling waters: China’s relations with the Persian Gulf

Abstract

In the past decade, China has significantly expanded its economic, political, and strategic relations with the Persian Gulf sub-region, building a complex, multi-faced system of engagements that still has oil at its core. Yet, China has carefully avoided taking any prominent security role in the region, exploiting the security umbrella managed by the United States. To advance its goal in the area, Beijing has developed a hierarchy of partnerships with three pivotal states at the top: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Iran. The lecture will examine three main questions: how has China successfully expanded its footprint in the Persian Gulf, building strategic relations with all regional states regardless of the pre-existing intra-regional rivalries; how will the Russia-Ukraine War impact Sino-Persian Gulf energy relations; and How will the great power competition between the United States and China impact the Persian Gulf?

Speaker

Jacopo Scita - Policy Fellow at Bourse & Bazaar Foundation

Bio

Dr Jacopo Scita is a Policy Fellow at the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation, a think tank focused on economic diplomacy, economic development, and economic justice in the Middle East and Central Asia. He focuses on China’s relations with the countries of the Middle East and Central Asia, especially Iran. His research traces the security, economic, and social dynamics generated by China’s growing presence in the region. Dr Scita has just defended his PhD in Government and International Affairs titled: "Role Theory and China’s Relations with Iran: All-Weather Friends on Beijing’s Terms" at Durham University, where he was an Al-Sabah Doctoral Fellow."