On March 11, nonresident fellow Tuvia Gering was quoted in the South China Morning Post China’s growing leverage and influence in the Middle East.
“One reason China may have succeeded where Russia and others, namely Iraq and Oman, had failed is that China has more leverage,” he said. “It is the largest trade partner of both Saudi Arabia and Iran, and it has plenty of other enticing carrots to offer or withhold. We don’t know what China had to offer each side to lubricate the deal, but it’s safe to assume it had something both sides needed.”
