Abstract
The geography, resources, and capacities of states are an important part of China’s global strategy. Yet, although the Gulf is strategically located and of economic importance to China, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states did not fall along the original routes demarcated by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Nevertheless, both China and these states have begun to mutually engage with the initiative, signing strategic partnerships, aligning these projects with national development visions in the region, and investing in Gulf ports and industrial cities. The expansion of the initiative has unsettled the United States (US) and its allies, some of whom have begun to view it as a serious challenge. In turn, they have attempted to impede the initiative by forming geopolitical alliances and proposing alternative economic initiatives. This article argues that the Gulf is of great concern to China and a key part of the BRI. It explores how the GCC states fit into BRI maps and the way in which each state has gradually become integrated into the BRI. It discusses Western responses to the initiative and the degree to which these may impact the GCC states. The paper offers tentative conclusions about China’s likely approach if the initiative is obstructed and its interests undermined. Will it modify its foreign policy approach? And how may this affect the Gulf?
