China expert Gordon Chang told Newsmax on Tuesday that China will likely "sit on the sidelines" of the conflict between Iran and Israel in hopes of preserving its economic interests in the region.
Chang noted that China has lost support from key allies in the Middle East, and will likely lose its alliance with Iran, which is currently embroiled in a conflict with Israel, as well.
"China has really had a problem over the last couple of years in the Middle East," Chang said on "Wake Up America." "Two years ago, it looked ascendant. Even a year ago it looked ascendant. Now it's being chased out of the region."
Chang noted that China has "lost its friends Syria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia" already and is "going to lose Iran eventually" because China will likely "just sit on the sidelines" while Iran fights Israel "because there’s not very much they can do."
He also noted that "China gets 50% of its oil … through the Strait of Hormuz, so a blockage of that strait would basically end the Chinese economy in … maybe a couple of months. This is something that China knows and it's relying on the U.S. Navy to keep it open."
Chang said leadership in China is "very worried" about the situation in the Middle East "and they're thinking about how they can upset things, and one of them is perhaps to cause trouble" in East Asia.
Chang said that China has increased "activity over the last four or five days against Taiwan and the Philippines. This could get really, really dangerous in East Asia."
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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