Geopolitical analysts have observed that one of the hardest hit casualties of the fall of Iran’s Islamic Republic regime is America’s main competitor, China. Chairman Xi has spent a decade himself, and billions of dollars, cultivating Middle East relations, largely through its major supporter, Iran.
In addition to that, the failure of Chinese war tech to stop the absolute brutalization of Iran and help it mount an effective counter (so far) will cause its current allies and customers to second-guess both its military tech capabilities and its capacity to protect them from American aggression. China was also hoping on Iran’s continued support of radical militant Islam colonizing western countries would continue, accelerating the decline of the West, rendering it a feckless foe.
China Scrambles As U.S Israeli Strike On Iran Upends Xi’s Middle East Strategy Rocky Mountain Voice
from news.google.com
The men in Zhongnanhai do not rattle easily. Decades of patient statecraft, a foreign policy built on studied ambiguity, and an economy engineered to absorb external shocks have granted Beijing’s leadership a remarkable tolerance for turbulence. Operation Epic Fury, the U.S.–Israeli military campaign now dismantling Iran’s military architecture, has produced something unusual in the corridors of Chinese power: visible confusion.
Xi Jinping is scrambling — and that word is not used lightly. For a leader who has built his image on strategic composure and long-horizon thinking, Xi faces an acutely dangerous moment — not because China faces a direct military threat but because every available response to the crisis in the Persian Gulf leads Beijing into a trap of its own contradictions.