Xi’s $270 Billion Middle East Bet Limits China Support for Iran

Even as China remains one of Iran’s biggest diplomatic allies, President Xi Jinping’s support for the Islamic Republic is being constrained by a vast trail of Chinese capital across the Gulf.  China ramped up investment in the Middle East in the wake of the pandemic. Companies hit by a slump in the world’s No. 2 economy sought to cash in as Gulf states pushed to diversify beyond fossil fuels into green tech and tourism — sectors that neatly matched Beijing’s strengths. With developing nations li