China's growing influence in the Middle East challenges US dominance and reshapes alliances.

China's recent diplomatic efforts have resulted in a rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, upending US dominance in the Middle East. China's growing quest to shape the world in its orbit and its need for energy to fuel its rise as a global power motivated its intervention. The US's diplomatic limitations and inconsistencies have led Saudi Arabia to hew policy to its national interests and less to America's needs. The wider implications for the regional and global order are quantifiably bigger and will resonate for years.