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For the past several years, the Middle East has been China’s key trading hub, not least because of more than 70 per cent of the oil that Beijing imports from here. Between 2017 and 2022, China’s bilateral trade with this region jumped from US$262 billion to US$507 billion. In 2022 alone, the region saw its trade with China jumping by more than 27 per cent. This was the largest increase in China’s trade compared with other regions, such as the ASEAN.

Recently, Israel assassinated Hamas’ Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. This alleged assassination by Israel has raised multiple questions. The assassination has been followed by the Beijing Declaration – which aims to promote unity between Palestinian entities, a framework initiated by China. This frustrated the United States.

In July 2024, Japan sharply intensified its foreign policy in the most important areas, particularly regarding strengthening relations with the countries of the collective West, split into three aspects: US, South Korean and European. Japan has focused on defence cooperation with its allies in both bilateral and multilateral formats (IP4, AUKUS+, NATO, the Seoul-Washington-Tokyo axis, etc.).