Intel: China may pose greater challenge to US hegemony in Mideast than Russia

The top US military commander for operations in the Middle East said that China’s economic influence in the Middle East may one day pose a greater challenge to US strategic interests than Russia in the region, even as the Kremlin seeks wider military presence in Syria and Libya.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan attend the fourth Israel-China Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation meeting at the foreign ministry in Jerusalem, October 24, 2018. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC11C8C06E00
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan attend the fourth Israel-China Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, Oct. 24, 2018. - REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Al Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East
Al-Monitor Staff

The top US military commander for operations in the Middle East said that China’s economic influence in the Middle East may one day pose a greater challenge to US strategic interests than Russia in the region, even as the Kremlin seeks a wider military presence in Syria and Libya.

“I do worry about China quite a bit because it is one of my core taskings,” head of US Central Command Gen. Frank McKenzie said during a think tank event in Washington on Wednesday.

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