Soft Balancing in the Gulf: China’s foreign policy towards Iran and the implications for the United States’ regional hegemony

How does China’s engagement with Iran affect the U.S. hegemony in the Gulf? Drawing on soft balancing and multiplex world order frameworks, this paper analyzes contemporary China–Iran relations along three axes: strategic partnership through Iran’s membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization; Chinese diplomatic mediation between Iran and Saudi Arabia; and China’s economic and financial partnerships with Tehran through the Belt and Road Initiative. We argue that these axes are fundamental tools of political-diplomatic engagement and economic-financial relations that China mobilizes to soft balance the U.S. in the Gulf. By doing so, Beijing challenges Washington’s primacy in the region while avoiding direct military confrontation with it. The article deepens understanding of China’s Gulf strategy and explores Iran’s role in it.