11. CHINA'S STRATEGIC SHIFT TOWARD THE REGION OF THE FOUR SEAS: THE MIDDLE KINGDOM ARRIVES IN THE MIDDLE EAST
- Author:
- Christina Y. Lin
- Publication Date:
- 12-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Middle East Review of International Affairs
- Institution:
- Global Research in International Affairs Center, Interdisciplinary Center
- Abstract:
- Since the Arab Spring, China has been quietly asserting its influence and fortifying its foothold in the Middle East, while the United States pivots to the Asia Pacific after a decade of war. It is aligning with states that have problematic relations with the West and are also geo-strategically placed on the littoral of the “Four Seas”--the Caspian Sea, Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and Arabian Sea/Persian Gulf. Paradoxically, the U.S. eastward pivot is matched by the resurgent Middle Kingdom's westward pivot across its new Silk Road, and threatens to outflank the citadel of American geo-strategies in the region.
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, America, Middle East, and Asia