China and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

China and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

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August 4, 2023
China and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
The People’s Republic of China (PRC or China) has been
effective implementation of JCPOA,” according to one
expanding its diplomatic, economic, and security ties with
PRC diplomat. The PRC has reportedly been the principal
countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
purchaser of Iranian crude oil during since 2018,
region since the late 1990s. As in other regions, closer
undermining U.S. sanctions policy. In June 2023, the U.S.
political relationships have accompanied the development
Department of the Treasury sanctioned 13 Iranian and PRC
of commercial ties between the PRC and MENA countries.
entities and individuals for facilitating procurement of
For their part, some MENA governments are exploring and
sensitive parts and technology for actors involved in Iran’s
embracing China’s potential as an addition or alternative to
ballistic missile program.
the United States as a partner in some sectors, especially
energy and trade. China’s growing role in the region,
Economic Relations
involving both allies and adversaries of the United States,
According to the International Monetary Fund’s Direction
has prompted U.S. policymakers and some Members of
of Trade Statistics, China’s total annual bilateral goods
Congress to consider how the United States should respond
trade volume with countries in the MENA region reached
to these shifting relationships. For a more detailed
approximately $368.4 billion in 2022, up from $284.3
examination of this topic, see CRS Report R47482, Middle
billion in 2021 and the previous high of $264.6 billion in
East and North Africa-China Relations.
2014. For comparison, U.S. trade with the region in 2022
was valued at approximately $144 billion. While the top
Diplomatic Relations
categories of goods China trades with each country varies,
The PRC maintains robust bilateral ties with numerous
the region’s exports to China are concentrated in the
countries in the MENA region, including “comprehensive
energy, mineral, and chemical sectors. The region’s imports
strategic partnerships” with Egypt, the United Arab
from China include consumer electronics, advanced
Emirates (UAE), Algeria, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. China
machinery, steel, and pharmaceutical products.
also engages several of the region’s multilateral groups,
including the League of Arab States (LAS) and the Gulf
Unlike the United States, China currently does not have any
Cooperation Council (GCC). China engages the LAS
bilateral free trade agreements with countries in the MENA
through the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, which
region. However, the PRC government has pursued a series
holds biannual ministerial meetings, annual senior official
of initiatives to boost trade with the region on a multilateral
committee meetings, and several affiliated exchanges. In
basis. China’s accession to the World Trade Organization
December 2022, China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, traveled to
(WTO) in 2001 created market access opportunities by
Riyadh to participate in the inaugural China-Arab States
reducing tariffs imposed on PRC imports among WTO
Summit and the first China-Gulf Cooperation Council
countries in the MENA region. To reach non-WTO
Summit, effectively raising PRC’s regular engagement with
countries in the region, China has pursued market access
the LAS and the GCC to the head-of-state level.
opportunities through alternative fora including the Belt and
Road Initiative (BRI) and via bilateral agreements such as
China has also sought to position itself as a potential
the Iran-China 25-Year Cooperation Program.
peacemaker in the region through an active diplomatic
presence. In March 2023, China hosted the signing of an
Figure 1. PRC Investment and Construction Projects
agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to reestablish
diplomatic relations between the two countries. Some
analysts point out that the groundwork for an agreement
was laid prior to China’s involvement; other commentators
have interpreted the move as a sign of China’s greater
willingness and capacity to engage politically in the MENA
region and reap the resulting recognition. In June 2023, Xi
Jinping received Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud

Abbas in Beijing and put forward a three-point proposal to
Source: Created by CRS with data from the China Global
resolve the Palestinian question.
Investment Tracker, the American Enterprise Institute, and the
Heritage Foundation.
The PRC officially supports and is party to the Joint
Estimates of the total size of China’s investment and
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, a.k.a. the Iran
financing in the region vary. According to the American
nuclear agreement). Since the United States’ withdrawal
Enterprise Institute’s China Global Investment Tracker,
from the JCPOA in 2018, the PRC has “worked hard to
MENA countries received approximately $152.4 billion in
help cement the consensus of all parties to safeguard the
investment and construction financing from China between
deal” and sought “to get the U.S. and Iran to full and
2013 and 2021 (see Figure 1). The BRI has expanded
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China and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
China’s financial ties in the region further by providing
“growing influence” in the MENA region and identified
financing for major infrastructure, construction, and
related U.S. national security concerns. U.S. officials have
connectivity projects. Eighteen MENA countries and the
asserted that the United States will not leave a vacuum in
Palestinian Authority have signed memoranda to participate
the MENA region for China or Russia to fill and have
in the BRI or support BRI projects. China currently has
indicated that the Administration has informed regional
bilateral investment treaties in force with 11 countries in the
U.S. partners that certain forms of security cooperation with
MENA region.
China may jeopardize their defense and security
partnerships with the United States.
Military and Defense Relations
The United States remains the primary security partner of
Issues Facing Congress
militarily capable and strategically located countries in the
In considering whether and how the United States might
MENA region, such as Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia,
respond to burgeoning PRC-MENA relationships, Members
the UAE, and Qatar. However, these and other MENA
of Congress might examine and debate whether China’s
governments appear to be pursuing diversification in their
expanding presence and partnerships in the region
security and arms procurement relationships. Algeria, Saudi
inherently challenge or threaten vital U.S. interests. They
Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and Egypt have all purchased PRC-origin
might also debate whether some types of U.S.-PRC
arms and conducted training and exercises with the
competition or cooperation in the region are appropriate and
Communist Party of China’s military, the People’s
manageable and, if so, which. Issues that Congress may
Liberation Army.
consider include:
China’s first and only identified overseas military base to
Strategic Competition. Congress may consider requiring
date is located in Djibouti, adjacent to the Red Sea and the
the Administration to develop a strategy to address China’s
Gulf of Aden and in close proximity to the southwestern
growing profile in the region as it has for other regions.
Arabian Peninsula. The U.S. Department of Defense states
This would have been required by some versions of the
that China’s government seeks to use its military to ensure
Strategic Competition Act of 2021 (S. 1169, 117th
its access to vital energy and other resources transiting the
Congress). Congress may also consider requiring additional
region’s sea lines of communication.
information to help shape and oversee U.S. policy. In the
117th Congress, for example, H.R. 6269 would have
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) may
directed the Administration to inform Congress on
provide a platform for security cooperation between China
“cooperation between China and the United Arab Emirates
and some MENA states. Founded in 2001, the eight-
on strategically sensitive matters that implicated U.S.
member SCO has traditionally been a Eurasia-focused
national security interests, including defense technology.”
group by membership. Nonetheless, Iran’s accession to the
SCO in July 2023 and the 2022 addition of Egypt, Qatar,
Congress may also consider whether and how to exercise
and Saudi Arabia as dialogue partners underscore the
oversight over the Administration’s use of the Countering
SCO’s potential to embrace members from the region.
PRC Influence Fund—which according to USAID “will be
used to fund […] new programming worldwide to resist the
Transnational Repression of Uyghurs
PRC government’s malign authoritarian model while
advancing our own affirmative global development
The PRC has sought to muster support among MENA states
agenda”—and efforts by the State Department’s Global
for its policies toward Uyghurs and other Muslim minority
Engagement Center to counter PRC state narratives in the
groups in Xinjiang and elsewhere in China. In 2021, the U.S.
region. As part of these efforts, Congress may also consider
State Department determined that the PRC had committed
whether and how best to communicate U.S. positions
crimes against humanity and genocide in Xinjiang. Twelve
regarding China to partners and rivals in the MENA region.
MENA governments were among the signatories of a 2019
letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council
Energy Trade. Given MENA countries’ importance to
commending China’s “remarkable achievements in the field of
energy supply chains, Congress may consider whether the
human rights” and affirming the PRC’s Xinjiang policy. Some
United States should design a MENA energy strategy
recent reports suggest that China may be pursuing the
similar to that proposed by the Indo-Pacific Strategic
extradition of Uyghurs and their families residing in countries
Energy Initiative Act (S. 1720). In light of the MENA
including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt. For more on
region’s position along major sea lines of communication
Uyghur issues, see CRS In Focus IF10281, China Primer:
and the region’s essential role in Indo-Pacific energy
Uyghurs.
security, Congress may consider examining vulnerabilities,
risks, and opportunities associated with the energy trade in
U.S. Policy Concerns
the event of escalating tensions involving China.
Successive U.S. Administrations and many Members of
Ricardo Barrios, Analyst in Asian Affairs
Congress have raised concerns about the PRC’s expanding
Christopher M. Blanchard, Specialist in Middle Eastern
global influence, including in the MENA region,
particularly as some MENA governments appear to view
Affairs
China as an alternative to the United States in some sectors.
Caitlin Campbell, Analyst in Asian Affairs
In August 2022 testimony before the Senate Committee on
Michael D. Sutherland, Analyst in International Trade and
Foreign Relations, Assistant Secretary of State for Near
Finance
Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf acknowledged China’s
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China and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

IF12469

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