In December 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Saudi Arabia. Xi promised to “usher in a new era” in Chinese-Arab relations. Nearly a year later, it can be said that China has succeeded: Beijing’s influence in the Middle East, particularly in the Gulf, has grown considerably, with potentially dire consequences for the United States and its allies.

China has scarcely masked its ambitions to create a Sinocentric Middle East. Indeed, the Middle Kingdom has even turned to a largely imagined past in its attempts to position for the future. During Xi’s visit, for example, Chinese state media issued a press release proclaiming: “China and Saudi Arabia have admired each other and conducted friendly exchanges since ancient times. The Prophet Mohammed said, ‘Seek knowledge even if you have to go as far as China.’”