News Summary

• Sun of the Stimson Center said that China and Gulf states “have shared goals and agendas beyond the US.” “Even without the US, China will remain a key buyer of Gulf oil and a critical economic partner,” she said.
• And we will not build exclusive circles,” the ministry said, adding that China “will continue to develop friendly relations in all fields with Middle Eastern countries” as well as “play a positive and constructive role in promoting peace and stability” in the region.
• “The perception among those countries, (is) that the United States has been either unable or unwilling… to fulfill its declared commitments to serve as the security guarantor,” Calabrese said.
• It takes place as Gulf states seek to distance themselves from what they see as an increasingly polarizing global order following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and waning US interest in their region as it redoubles efforts to contain China’s rise.
• China praises Ukraine talks in Saudi that Russia said were 'doomed to fail' The Gulf states were incapable of filling the vacuum on their own, so they became more autonomous and began relying on China, John Calabrese, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told CNN.
• Dubbed the China-UAE Falcon Shield-2023 joint air force exercise, the drill will take place in August in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region, the ministry said, without giving a specific date.