Institute For Middle East Studies

While the U.S. has been the dominant influence in the Middle East for the last 60 years, China's role has been more muted and less visible. Now China's rise as a commercial power and its rapidly growing demand for oil and gas resources have led China to forge new ties with the Middle East and to aggressively expand its influence. Confronted with the changes brought about by the Arab Spring, an Iran bent on nuclear weapons, a resurgent Turkey and a stalled peace process in Israel, how will a Chinese strategy for a stable energy supply affect events, including the threat of international terrorism? How will the presence of China, a rising and newly assertive power, affect commercial and diplomatic ties in the region?