Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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Is China replacing the United States as the Gulf's partner of choice? Jon Alterman argues the picture is more complicated, governments across the region are not choosing between Washington and Beijing but building diversified portfolios that include Europe, India, and others. The U.S.-Iran war has only sharpened that instinct, with even a single country like the UAE splitting its bets: Abu Dhabi leaning toward Washington, Dubai's commercial gravity pulling toward Beijing.

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