During his visit to Riyadh in July, U.S. President Joe Biden made ambitious statements such as "The U.S. will not leave any vacuum in the Middle East that Russia, Iran or China can fill". However, the contacts of Chinese President Xi Jinping with Saudi Arabia on 7-9 Dec. revealed that the country in the region that should find a new vacuum to fill is none other than the U.S. itself.

The Saudis organized a warm and high-level welcoming ceremony for Xi Jinping, incomparable with Biden's. More than 30 strategic agreements were signed between the two states. It is noted that the total value of mutual agreements, especially in energy (China already imports 18 percent of its oil from Saudi Arabia), transportation, technology, and finance, reached $30 billion. Xi was also presented with an "honorary doctorate", and the Saudi press continued to praise China, which it had started days ago, throughout the visit. In the article he wrote for the Saudi media, Xi interpreted the development of bilateral relations as "the beginning of a new era".

During his visit to Saudi Arabia, Xi Jinping also met with all the important leaders of the Arab world - from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Thus, a strong message was given especially to Europe and the U.S.

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The Sino-Gulf rapprochement is very meaningful as it shows that the countries of the region, which have been traditional allies of the USA for decades, are pursuing new political options. As Washington's predominant position in most Middle Eastern capitals is shaken, China (and Russia's) volume on the scales is rising.

On the face of the ongoing rapprochement facing the Islamic world and Muslims, the East Turkestan issue comes first. As the US turns the oppression and assimilation policies implemented by China in East Turkestan into a political trump card to weaken Beijing, and while it remains indifferent to many atrocities in the Muslim world -for example, while it supports the Israeli occupation in Palestine-unlimitedly, it constantly scratches the Uyghur issue. Islamic countries, which have shrugged off their policies and entered into partnerships with China, are pushing East Turkestan out of their agenda. “Why is the Muslim world not sensitive enough to East Turkestan?” This is one of the painful answers to the question.

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Along a line of thousands of kilometers stretching from Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Djibouti and the Persian Gulf to Iran and Afghanistan, China's "capital-centered" sphere of influence is getting deeper and deeper. I specifically emphasize "capital-centered", because "what has China got to offer this whole wide geography?" The answer to the question is hidden here: Cash and credit. China has no other trump card.

The U.S., England, France and other great international powers brought their own religions and cultures to the geographies they set foot on. Thus, over the years and centuries, "American culture", "English culture", "French culture" and so on. framed atmospheres. In the Islamic world, elites adopting these cultures were formed, and devshirme, working on behalf of these countries and lobbying, took the stage. In this sense, China has no material to give to the world. In this respect, we can say that the "Chinese influence in the Islamic geography", which some commentators attach great importance to and even show as a cause of fear, will remain much more limited than is supposed.

China's persistent policy of approaching the center of the Middle East and the Islamic world also points to a strategic reality: When you do not take your place in this part of the world, there is not much you can do with just economic accumulation. The condition of being a "superpower" is to set one foot firmly in the Middle East. China seems to have realized this fact. Therefore, assertive (!) comments such as "The future will be shaped in the Asia-Pacific", "The Middle East will lose its importance", "When the oil runs out, the Arabs will remain in the middle" should be revised in light of the fact that China itself is trying to settle in the Middle East.

However, as I pointed out above, China's weakest and most disadvantaged side compared to other superpowers is its lack of a belief that it can establish spiritual contact with the people of the region and its lack of an invasive culture. If China eventually makes peace with divine religions and transitions from a crude capitalist system to a deep cultural process, then that would be another story…