CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VIII (2) ContEurVIII2 | Page 74

CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VIII (2)
tension in China-US bilateral relations. Meanwhile, their views about the
region were divergent as well. For example, Beijing was putting all its
efforts to spread influence on Middle Eastern energy producers, while
Washington was taking steps to impose sanctions on Sudan in regard to
Darfur, as well as persuading the IAEA to refer Iran to the UN Security
Council for violating its nonproliferation obligations. Besides, China’s
engagement in the region and its further cooperation with Iran could have
provided Tehran a strategic counterbalance with the West, and it would
have had a chance to challenge Western interests more affirmatively. 28
Nevertheless, China’s quest for economic reforms, technological
development and stable policy in the Middle East made its leaders realize
the need for the normalization of Sino-American relations. 29
Beijing’s energy quest in the Middle East could also weaken US-
Saudi strategic cooperation in some aspects. For instance, Sino-Saudi
financial cooperation could have ramifications on the international
standing of the US dollar over time. Such an idea occurred between
China and Saudi Arabia because of the fear of a sudden decline in the
dollar’s value. Thus, it is very possible that an idea was developing to
informally cooperate to ensure their countries’ financial stability.
Eventually, further Sino-Saudi collaboration could pave the way for the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to determine
which payment for oil amongst the various currencies to choose from
besides the US dollar. Indeed, such a development would have had a
crucial impact on the status of the US dollar as the leading reserve
currency in the world. 30
Thus, it was imperative for the United States and its policymakers
to pay attention to this phenomenon, and to develop a strategy for
managing such possible challenges. Step by step, China’s growing
influence in the Middle East became an obvious reality, and even the
most desirable foreign policy objective of Washington could not exclude
Beijing from the region. Furthermore, Beijing’s foreign policy succeeded
in continuing its economic drive to seek more and more energy resources
in region. The Middle Eastern countries, especially the energy producers,
were also developing various mechanisms for their further cooperation
with Beijing without following any suggestions from the United States to
ignore China. Thus, perhaps the smartest and potentially more successful

28
Ibid, 196.
29 Alexander
30 Leverett
74
Neill, “China and the Middle East,” Adelphi Series, Vol. 447 (8), 2014, 208.
and Bader, “Managing China-U.S.,” 197.