Middle East Notes and Comment November 2007: Beyond the Silk Road

Other than the United States and Iran, the country with the most influence over whether there will be another war in the Persian Gulf may be China. That’s not the conventional view, and it’s not one that sits well with Chinese officials and scholars. China professes to be neither a Gulf power nor a global power, and many Chinese disavow responsibility for consequential decisions half a world away. China’s centrality to the world’s diplomacy with Iran is an important sign of how much the Middle East—and China’s role in it—is changing.

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Alterman
Senior Vice President, Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy, and Director, Middle East Program

Jon B. Alterman