BRIDGING THE GULF: - China’s Navigation of the Saudi-Iranian Rivalry - By Lucille Greer

BRIDGING THE GULF: China’s Navigation of the Saudi-Iranian Rivalry By Lucille Greer Kissinger Institute BRIDGING THE GULF: China’s Navigation of the Saudi-Iranian Rivalry By Lucille Greer The Wilson Center The Kissinger Institute on China and the United States Washington, DC The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars was chartered by the US Congress in 1968 as the living memorial to the. [...] This group should have representation from the Department of State, the Department of Defense, the intelligence commu- nity, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Energy. [...] Their target was in the remote moonscapes of the Eastern Province, the source of the Kingdom’s standing in the region and the world. [...] Who controls the oil resources of the region controls the lifeblood of the world.” At the time, the author was speculating on American motives in the Persian Gulf War.23 That state- ment rings true of Chinese investment in the Middle East’s energy sector today. [...] The revolution was built on a diverse coalition across Iranian society which expressed discontent with the regime’s corruption, crackdowns on dissent, foreign control of the oil industry, and ties to the West.45 Economic collapse in 1977 and the resulting inflation and unemployment were the final nail in the coffin for the shah’s government.46 The hopes of secular elements in the revo- lution were.