How to expand the China-GCC strategic partnership

How to expand the China-GCC strategic partnership

China enjoys warm ties with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council states. Most GCC countries have upgraded their engagement with China to a “strategic partnership,” with close cooperation in all fields, including political and security areas. While these developments are important and real, I will suggest some steps to make it closer and enduring.GCC-China engagement was not always this close. The contrast is clear in the case of Saudi Arabia and China, which did not exchange diplomatic ties until 1990. Then, Saudi Arabia accepted the “one China” policy and downgraded Taiwan's embassy in the Kingdom to a trade mission. However, most of the change came from the Chinese side. For much of its history, the People's Republic of China supported revolutionary change around the world, including the Gulf. In the 1970s, it supported the Dhofar rebellion in Oman and the socialist regime in South Yemen, among others. In 1979, it embraced the Iranian revolution, which ended the US influence in Tehran and gave a wider opening for China in the Gulf.The legacy of support for Tehran lingers as a relic from China's revolutionary days, but is waning in terms of strategic interests; for example, in 2019, Iran provided China