This past Saturday, on the sidelines of the G20 summit, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed to connect the Middle East to South Asia and Europe, through a network of railways and ports. The leaders' announcements claim that this is a far-reaching vision that will bridge the two continents and lead to a "more united, prosperous and stable Middle East," replete with "endless possibilities." If the speaker were not US President Joe Biden, one might think that this was a recording of the Chinese President from 2013, when he announced the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. Even the name of the Memorandum of Understanding –"India-Middle East-Economic Corridor" – seems to play on the standard Chinese list of names.
The similarity is probably not entirely coincidental. The US is very disturbed by China's hold in the Middle East, which it has achieved in no small part thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative from a decade ago. In recent years, China has strengthened its influence in the Gulf countries through cooperation from ports and railways, through energy, communication, AI, and smart cities, to the field of space. In contrast, Biden received a cold shoulder more than once when the leaders of prominent countries in the region refused to align themselves with the US demands and continued their cooperation with the biggest rival of their ally.
Theoretically, the new "corridor vision" may help the US find its way back into the hearts of the region's leaders, through the rich European market, and the strong Indian influence, thanks in part to the large number of its citizens working in the Gulf countries. If a future "corridor" passageway is possible through Jordan and Israel to the Mediterranean Sea, this will help bring the US closer to at least two allies that still see China as an important economic partner – Israel and Saudi Arabia. However, such a passage is conditional on the expansion of the Abraham Accords and the I2U2 framework, so that they also include Riyadh. Achieving this goal entails a long road ahead.
In the meantime, the required financial scope of the investment to establish the "corridor," who will finance it, and who will participate in its establishment remain unknown. It will be interesting to see, for example, whether Chinese companies are allowed to take part in this enterprise.