US and China Take Divergent Paths in the New West Asia

Feb 17, 2026

Mohammed Soliman, a senior fellow and geopolitical strategist, discusses why the region is being reframed as West Asia. He explores China’s growing economic foothold, the Asianization of Gulf economies, U.S. military primacy vs. shifting strategy, connectivity corridors, and Gulf plans to become AI and compute hubs. Short, sharp insights on how great power competition is reshaping regional alignments.

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INSIGHT

Gulf Tilting Toward Asia

China became the Gulf's largest trading partner in 2024 and Chinese bank lending to the Gulf surged to record levels in 2023.
This economic shift signals an Asian-centered reorientation of Gulf ties beyond traditional Western dominance.

INSIGHT

Why 'West Asia' Replaces 'Middle East'

West Asia reframes the Middle East within an Asian-centered Eurasian rimland rather than a Eurocentric map.
The Gulf is 'Asianizing' through trade, energy links, demographics, and deepening ties with India, China, Korea, and Japan.

ADVICE

Reallocate U.S. Security By Delegation

The United States should treat itself as a resident power and redesign its commitments in West Asia to 'do more with less.'
Delegate security through flexible coalitions to free resources for a strategic pivot to Asia.

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The United States and China are pursuing sharply different strategies in a region that is no longer best understood as the "Middle East," but as part of a broader Asian-centered geopolitical system historically described as "West Asia."

This vast region stretches from countries along the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean, all the way to the Eastern Mediterranean. While the U.S. remains the undisputed military hegemon in this theater, China is steadily becoming the indispensable economic power, providing access to vast pools of capital, new technology, and expanding trade.

Mohammed Soliman, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and a director at the geopolitical advisory firm McLarty Associates, joins Eric from Washington, D.C., to discuss his new book that explores how the U.S., China, and other powers are adapting to this new expanded view of the Middle East known as "West Asia."

Purchase the book: West Asia: A New American Grand Strategy in the Middle East by Mohammed Soliman

📌 Topics covered in this episode:

• Why the Middle East is increasingly being reframed as West Asia • China's quiet diplomatic outreach to Israel and the Palestinians • Surging Chinese trade and bank lending in the Gulf • The Asianization of Gulf economies through trade, energy, and demographics • Whether China will translate economic power into military presence • America's role as a resident security power with 50000 troops in the region • Why U.S. grand strategy may require doing more with less in West Asia • The India Middle East Europe Corridor and connectivity as instruments of power • AI compute infrastructure and the Gulf's post-oil transformation • Israel's evolving role in regional security architecture • How great power competition is reshaping alliances and coalitions • Whether values or interests will define the next phase of U.S. engagement

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