The obstacles & opportunities to China's rising role in the Middle East

At the beginning of the third millennium, the phrase of Rising/Emerging Powers entered to International Political Studies, especially power transition theories. Powers with relatively different behaviors have usually been compared to other great powers in the history of International Relation. In the recent years China has been in the core of this field of studies. China's rising in the international system has caused this country to improve its role in different regions including the Middle East and to boost its national interests. The main question of the present article is that “how different obstacles & opportunities in the Middle East, would affect the china's rising role in the region?” The hypothesis is that “China's military limitations and political-strategic obstacles due to great powers rivalry in the region have a direct relationship with this country playing marginal role in the Middle East. Moreover, economical opportunities (trade-energy) bear a great importance in China's rising role in the Middle East. Using the Regional Security Complex Theory (RSCT) and reviewing the political, security, economical, cultural and strategic aspects, this article emphasizes on the fact that the Middle East is one of the key areas in China’s long-term grand strategy, and that the Islamic Republic of Iran may become the main focus of this strategy as well as the main strategic ally of China, by modifying some of its international behaviors.