De-Escalation for the Gulf—Success and Challenge for China

... and guarantor of the agreements reached. Obviously, the first test will be its involvement in the Saudi-Iranian de-escalation. China’s success came against the backdrop of declining U.S. interest in the Middle East. In the eyes of regional public opinion, this casts somewhat of a shadow on the reputation of the United States as ... ... traditional guarantor of regional stability, already tarnished by its hurried withdrawal from Afghanistan and its inability to protect Saudi Arabia from Yemen’s missile strikes. However, one should not assume that the U.S. will end up losing. The strategic alliance ...