The impact of COVID-19 on China–Persian Gulf relations: a game-changer or a spotlight?

Scita, Jacopo

Abstract

In the last decade, the relationships between China and the Persian Gulf countries have evolved from ones based on an almost entirely economic rationale to a more complex, multi-layered set of relations, often pervaded by strategic elements. The COVID-19 pandemic hit the Persian Gulf – and the entire world – as an unforecastable storm, causing an unprecedented social, economic, political and health crisis. Yet the pandemic did not result in the rejection or even major scrutiny of China’s role and presence in the Persian Gulf. In fact, rather than undermining the foundations of the supply and demand logic that constitute the backbone of these relationships, the pandemic has made more apparent its fundamental trends, the blind spots, and, especially in the case of Iran, the dangerous overdependence.

Citation

Scita, J. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on China–Persian Gulf relations: a game-changer or a spotlight?. Global Discourse: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Current Affairs and Applied Contemporary Thought, 10(4), 489-497. https://doi.org/10.1332/204378920x16014926765503

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Oct 26, 2020
• Publication Date: 2020-11
• Deposit Date: Mar 16, 2021
• Journal: Global Discourse: An interdisciplinary journal of current affairs
• Print ISSN: 2326-9995
• Publisher: Bristol University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 489-497
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1332/204378920x16014926765503