US Withdrawal from JCPOA and Its Effect on China’s Hegemonic Pursuits

• In Event: Chinese Foreign Policy

Abstract

When US President Donald Trump abrogated the United States’ commitment to the Iran Nuclear Deal, a domino effect of political and economic realignment was triggered both in the world oil markets and in the politics of Asia and the Middle East. China has taken advantage of the change in US foreign policy toward Iran, and exploited it to their advantage. Any plan for the future of American diplomacy in the oil-rich Middle East must now take into account China’s strategy for economic growth and its growing need for oil. That need will dictate the tactics China employs to achieve its goals and are necessitated by its drive toward military and economic hegemony. Those tactics will threaten the US, as they will affect US economic dominance and security, as well as the security of US allies in the South China Sea and around the world.

This paper will argue that the goal of China’s international policies is the displacement of the United States as the dominant economic power in the world and the achievement of worldwide hegemony. It will also catalog indications that, in late 2023, those efforts are faltering, and long-term trends seem to indicate the path for China toward these goals will likely grow more difficult.

Author

• Jerry Pano Concha