In brokering a deal to resurrect diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Chinese President Xi Jinping has achieved a diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East. This is new: China usually refrains from playing a mediating role at all, let alone in the Middle East. And on the surface, it’s significant: Beijing and Moscow—as well as critics of the Biden administration in Washington—have characterized the agreement as a setback for U.S. influence and status in the Middle East and around the world.
Dig a little deeper, however, and the sky is not falling for Washington. On the contrary, while the deal may have temporarily damaged some of the United States’ interests in the region, the upside could significantly outweigh the downside, in both the short and the long terms.
