Middle Eastern leaders seem to be in a race to gain favor with China. While the region buzzes with criticism of US policy, its political elites are busy showering China with accolades and heading to Beijing to sign a wide variety of bilateral agreements. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, for example, has visited China six times since 2014.

Although most engagement between China and Middle Eastern governments still focuses on energy and economic relations, cooperation increasingly covers new areas such as defense. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have recently announced plans to introduce Chinese-language studies into their national educational curriculums. More tellingly, both countries (and others in the region) have defended China’s persecution of its mainly Muslim Uighur population, a crackdown that has been widely condemned in the West.

All of this raises two questions. Why are Middle Eastern states betting on China? And to what extent can China fill the political vacuum in the region created by America’s diminishing footprint?

At first glance, Middle Eastern governments’ newfound love for China is puzzling. Conservative Arab regimes were historically suspicious of communist China, and established diplomatic relations with it only in the 1980s or early 1990s. Moreover, many countries in the region have long-standing defense ties with the United States. Yet some of these US allies, most notably Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, have now signed comprehensive strategic partnership agreements with China.

These developments are causing growing unease in Washington. The US government has even conveyed its concerns to Israel over cooperation with China concerning sensitive technologies. The entry of the Chinese tech firms Huawei and ZTE into the Israeli market has been a particular source of concern……more here