[News] America's costly backing for Israel is enabling China's unstoppable rise

[Anti-Imperialist News]

middleeasteye.net
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/chinas-rise-exposing-cost-americas-alliance-israel>
America's costly backing for Israel is enabling China's unstoppable rise
Sami Al-Arian
July 16, 2025
------------------------------

The rivalry between the United States
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/us> and China
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/china> has emerged as the defining
feature of 21st-century geopolitics.

As American global dominance frays after three decades of unipolarity,
China's steady rise
<https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2021-10-19/inevitable-rivalry-cold-war>
as an economic, military and diplomatic soft power signals a tectonic shift
in the global order.

At the same time, the US continues to entangle itself in regional struggles
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/israels-war-iran-has-left-it-paralysed-and-scrambling-us-rescue>
- particularly in the Middle East - that no longer yield strategic
dividends but instead deepen perceptions of decline.

Nowhere is this clearer than in America's unwavering support
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/www.middleeasteye.net/big-story/gaza-israel-7-october-destroyed-myth-military-invincibility>
for Israel <https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel>, especially
after the 7 October attack
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/www.middleeasteye.net/big-story/gaza-israel-7-october-destroyed-myth-military-invincibility>,
which has begun to reshape global perceptions of the legitimacy of both US
power
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/video/how-gaza-exposed-us-empire-never-matt-kennard>
and the Zionist enterprise.

Together, these developments mark the decline of US primacy and the
emergence of a new international order no longer shaped solely by American
imperial dominance.
Strategic patience

Since the end of the Cold War, China has pursued a long-term strategy
<https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-long-game-chinas-grand-strategy-to-displace-american-order/>
of "strategic patience" - a multidimensional approach
<https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/xis-gamble> that emphasises economic
growth, military modernisation and multilateral engagement.

The Belt and Road Initiative
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/china-middle-east-us-bill-seeks-counter-growing-influence>
(BRI) is the flagship of this strategy, aiming to weave a web of
infrastructure, trade and investment agreements across Eurasia, Africa and
Latin America.

The initiative has allowed China not only to secure vital resources and
influence global trade routes, but also to export its development model
while bypassing western-dominated institutions.

China's explosive growth has allowed it to secure vital resources, shape
global trade routes and bypass western-dominated institutions

China's economic growth has been staggering. In 1992, its GDP
<https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD> was just 6 percent of
that of the US, at $367bn, while the US stood at $6.52 trillion. Today, it
exceeds 65 percent, at $20 trillion compared
<https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO> with $30 trillion for the US.

This explosive growth has funded an equally impressive military
modernisation programme. While China has not yet supplanted the US as the
dominant global military power, it increasingly asserts itself regionally,
particularly in the South and East China Seas.

With a military doctrine
<https://www.csis.org/podcasts/chinapower/best-chinapower-implications-chinas-conventional-missile-arsenal-conversation>
focused on anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities, China seeks to
deter US intervention near its borders - an essential step towards becoming
the dominant power in East Asia.

In parallel, China has actively contributed to alternative international
institutions that challenge western hegemony.

Through Brics
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/can-brics-end-us-hegemony-middle-east>,
the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), and financial bodies such as
the New Development Bank, China and its partners are steadily constructing
a multipolar world order - one that erodes the primacy of the US-led
liberal international system.
US grand strategy

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US emerged as the world's sole
superpower - a unipolar moment it was determined to extend indefinitely.

Since 1991, US grand strategy has revolved around preventing the rise of
peer competitors, especially in the world's most critical regions: East
Asia, Europe, and the Persian Gulf-Middle East.

The logic was simple: if no other power became dominant in its own region,
none could challenge American global supremacy.

To that end, the US pursued two major policies to weaken its potential
rivals in Europe and East Asia - both of which ultimately failed.

In Europe, it expanded Nato
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/russia-fsu/2014-08-18/why-ukraine-crisis-west-s-fault>
eastward from 16 members in 1991 to 32 today, attempting to contain or
politically transform Russia
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/russia>. The inclusion of
post-Soviet states and support for pro-western movements such as the
"colour revolutions" were intended to undermine Moscow's influence.

Instead, these actions triggered a powerful backlash. Viewing Nato
enlargement as an existential threat, Russia reasserted itself, culminating
in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/www.middleeasteye.net/topics/russia-ukraine-war>
- a conflict that has shifted in Moscow's favour despite massive western
military aid and economic support for Kyiv.

Since the 1990s, the US has pursued a policy of engagement
<https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/china-reckoning> with China, assuming
that economic integration would inevitably liberalise the Chinese political
system and bind it to the US-led international order.

China was admitted to the World Trade Organization
<https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/countries_e/china_e.htm> in 2001 and
became a hub for US and global investment. But rather than transforming
into a neoliberal democracy, China retained its authoritarian governance
structure while amassing extraordinary economic wealth and technological
power.

This, in turn, enabled a surge in military spending and regional
assertiveness - precisely what Washington had hoped to prevent.
Imperial overreach

The third pillar of US hegemony lies in the Persian Gulf and the broader
Middle East. Control over this oil-rich region has long been central to US
strategic planning - not only for energy access but to maintain the primacy
of the US dollar
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/can-brics-end-us-hegemony-middle-east>
.

After its 1971 delinking from gold, the dollar's status as the global
reserve currency was sustained by petrodollar recycling. Ensuring that oil
is traded in dollars and that regional regimes remain friendly and under
American influence has been critical.

After 9/11, US foreign policy took an ambitious and hubristic turn towards
social engineering. It invaded Afghanistan and Iraq
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/topics/iraq-war> under the banner of
democratisation, regime change and national security.

As former Nato commander General Wesley Clark revealed
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2003/9/22/us-plans-to-attack-seven-muslim-states>
in 2003, the Pentagon had plans to attack seven Muslim countries in five
years: Iraq, Syria <https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/syria>, Lebanon
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/lebanon>, Libya
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/libya>, Somalia, Sudan
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/sudan> and Iran
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/iran>.

But these grand designs unravelled in the deserts and mountains of the
region. The US was defeated in both Iraq and Afghanistan, despite massive
military expenditures and the loss of thousands of soldiers.

The dream of remaking the Middle East in America's image collapsed into
chaos, insurgency and failure.
Strategic liability

A central dimension of US Middle East policy has always revolved around its
relationship <https://www.middleeasteye.net/topics/us-israel-relations>
with Israel.

Since Israel's 1967 victory
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/more-israel-kills-more-west-portrays-it-victim>
over three Arab states, it has been viewed by the American establishment as
a valuable strategic ally.

But Israel is not merely a foreign policy concern; it is deeply embedded in
American domestic politics through the influence of the Israel lobby
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/topics/israel-lobby>.

The rise of the neoconservatives
<https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1475-4967.2006.00260.x>
in the early 2000s - figures such as Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith, Scooter
Libby, Elliott Abrams and Richard Perle - marked the increasing convergence
of US strategic goals with those of the Israeli and Zionist-American right.

Ever since, American "Israel-firsters" have not merely knocked at the door
of policymaking; they now occupy
<https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/analyses/2025-03-06/israels-stance-donald-trumps-second-term?utm_source=chatgpt.com>
multiple seats at the table.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 2023 speech at the UN
encapsulated
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/big-story/netanyahu-washington-visit-paved-way-regional-war>
Israel's ambitions. Promoting the India-Middle East-Europe Economic
Corridor (IMEC), Netanyahu positioned Israel as a central node in global
trade and infrastructure, while completely ignoring the Palestinians.

The speech embodied Israel's hegemonic aspirations and bid to solidify
normalisation
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/www.middleeasteye.net/topics/israel-normalisation-deals>
with Arab and Islamic states, particularly Saudi Arabia
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/saudi-arabia>, Indonesia and
Pakistan.

But this disregard helped provoke the 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas - an
operation that shattered
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/saudi-arabia> the illusion of
Israeli invincibility and triggered a cascade of strategic losses for the
Zionist project.
Historic rupture

The Toufan al-Aqsa operation marked a historic rupture in the region's
balance of power.

Despite possessing one of the most technologically advanced armies in the
world and a vast intelligence apparatus, the Zionist regime was caught
entirely off guard. The operation exposed deep failures in Israel's
deterrence strategy, military doctrine and internal cohesion.

In response, Israel launched
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/topics/israel-war-gaza> one of the most
devastating genocidal campaigns in modern history, reducing Gaza's civilian
infrastructure to rubble.

Despite 21 months of bombing, siege and genocide, the Palestinian
resistance remains undefeated - waging a war of attrition and negotiating
from a position of resilience

Tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed - two-thirds of them women
and children - while hundreds of thousands were injured and millions
displaced.

Yet despite 21 months of continuous bombing, siege and genocide, the
Palestinian resistance remains undefeated. It continues a painful war of
attrition and engages in negotiations from a position of resilience
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/gaza-ceasefire-palestinian-resilience-prevails-israeli-genocidal-war>
.

Israel's military goal of achieving "total victory" by dismantling Hamas,
exiling its leaders or disarming its military structures remains unrealised.

This has led to a strategic crisis. Israel's deterrence doctrine -
inflicting overwhelming punishment to deter adversaries - has failed. Its
regional image has eroded
<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/06/israel-iran-war-idf-lebanon-military-doctrine>
.

Its intelligence services have lost credibility. Social cohesion within
Israel has fractured under the weight of prolonged war and economic strain.
Military morale has plummeted, while thousands of Israelis have either been
displaced or emigrated
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/palestinians-are-massacred-staying-israelis-are-desperate-flee>
due to growing instability.

Internationally, Israel's narrative of victimhood has crumbled. Graphic
footage of massacres, starvation and mass destruction has flooded social
media.

Public opinion has shifted
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/why-new-york-times-so-afraid-zohran-mamdani>
dramatically, particularly in the US and Europe, with millions taking to
the streets <https://www.middleeasteye.net/topics/gaza-protests?page=3> -
including significant numbers of Jewish youth - to stand in solidarity with
Palestinians.

Major institutions such as the International Court of Justice and the
International Criminal Court have taken unprecedented steps, issuing genocide
warnings <https://www.middleeasteye.net/topics/israel-icj-case> and arrest
warrants <https://www.middleeasteye.net/topics/icc-arrest-warrants> for
senior Israeli officials, including Netanyahu.

Calls for boycott, divestment and sanctions are growing
<https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jul/11/bds-movement-palestine-freedom>.
The economy has suffered major setbacks
<https://www.dw.com/en/can-israels-economy-withstand-the-current-conflict/a-67479261>,
tourism has collapsed <https://www.ynetnews.com/travel/article/hjqikf47gx>,
and reverse migration <https://www.ynetnews.com/business/article/byajrlgrye>
threatens long-term demographic stability.
Fractured alliance

While Washington and Tel Aviv share strategic aims - defeating Palestinian
resistance, containing Iran
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/www.middleeasteye.net/topics/israel-attacks-iran>
and preserving regional primacy - they diverge in their long-term goals.

Israel seeks regional hegemony, driven by maximalist visions such as
the "Greater
Israel
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/israel-middle-east-for-ever-wars-pave-way-demise>"
project.

Why Netanyahu is frantically trying to pull the US into Israel's war on Iran

This includes expanding settlements in the West Bank, as championed by
extremist cabinet member Bezalel Smotrich, and provocative moves around the
al-Aqsa compound, pushed by racist minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

The destruction of Gaza and escalating settler violence in the West Bank
appear calculated to induce mass Palestinian expulsion to "solve"
Israel's demographic
dilemma
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/israels-genocide-gaza-war-demographics>
and avoid permanent apartheid.

The US, by contrast, prefers managed stability - weakening Iran, securing
energy markets, curbing Russian and Chinese influence, and preserving a
compliant regional security order with allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia.

With Israel's failure to subdue the resistance militarily, Washington aims
to end the war while still realising its objectives and preserving the
regional order.
New order

The rise of Trump's nativist "Maga" movement, the collapse of US strategic
credibility, the emergence of China as a peer competitor, and the regional
unravelling of Israeli deterrence have together created an opening for a
historic reorientation of global power.

For the Arab and Muslim world, this moment presents an urgent imperative:
to break free from foreign domination and Zionist hegemonic control.

The western-led international system has shown itself unwilling or unable
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/gaza-genocide-israel-burning-alive-destroying-world-as-we-know-it>
to hold Israel accountable for its crimes - despite overwhelming evidence
of genocide, war crimes and ethnic cleansing.

This exposes a structurally unjust order in which sheer power, not law,
determines legitimacy. The fundamental interest of Arab and Muslim peoples
lies in dismantling this system and moving towards a multipolar order
grounded in justice, sovereignty and human dignity.

More critically, the unifying struggle today must be the eradication of
foreign domination and Zionist influence. Without this, no revival -
whether based on democracy, economic reform, scientific progress, Islamic
governance or civilisational renewal - can succeed.

For the Arab and Muslim world, this moment presents an urgent imperative:
to break free from foreign domination and Zionist hegemonic control

Israeli hegemony, backed by US military, political and financial support,
is designed precisely to thwart any movement towards independence, unity or
development. It is a blockade against the future.

Only by confronting and dismantling these structures of domination can the
region begin a genuine renaissance. Sovereignty and self-determination
cannot coexist with fragmentation, dependency and occupation. This struggle
must take precedence over all others - not as a vague ideal, but as a
strategic necessity.

The twilight of American primacy may not come overnight, but it is clearly
underway.

Its uncritical alignment with Israeli extremism risks sparking another wave
of regional unrest - an Arab Spring
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/topics/arab-spring> 2.0 - directed not only
at domestic autocrats, but also at dismantling Zionist racist structures
and the US imperial order that sustains them.

In this critical moment, the peoples of the Arab and Muslim world must
chart a new course - one that asserts agency, reclaims sovereignty and
redefines their place in a just and multipolar global order.

*The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not
necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.*
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