There has been plenty of hand-wringing in the West about the prospect of China displacing — or at least rivaling — the United States as the world’s leading superpower. But the evolving security crisis in the Red Sea makes clear that this remains a distant prospect.
China, with a trade-led economy dependent on the free flow of commerce through chokepoints like the Bab el-Mandeb strait off Yemen, relies on the United States to protect international sea lanes. The U.S.-led military response to the Houthi militia attacks on international shipping may not ultimately be the answer to the current crisis — the Houthis, so far, appear undeterred — but the United States has at least demonstrated a clear commitment to keeping open vital trade routes that connect China to the Middle East and Europe.
Rather than acting like the global leader it purports to be, China has made no appreciable move to shoulder the costs or risks of ensuring security in the Red Sea, despite having its sole declared overseas military base in Djibouti, adjacent to the strait. Nor has it publicly offered a viable alternative to America’s actions. Instead, it seems content to largely sit back and offer veiled criticism of the U.S. military response.
Beijing is playing a cynical game, free-riding on the same American power that it holds in contempt, trying to have it both ways.
For China’s leaders, there is a certain strategic logic to this. The Red Sea crisis distracts the United States from focusing on Asia, buying China time to marshal its capabilities in the western Pacific while presenting itself as a benevolent power that does not meddle in other countries’ affairs. In at least one important way, it’s working: Houthi leaders have allowed Chinese commercial ships to sail unscathed through the Red Sea, apparently in return for China’s noninterference in the conflict.
Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security adviser, was due to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Thailand on Friday and Saturday to discuss the situation, according to U.S. officials. The United States must call out China for its duplicity and pressure it to start acting like a responsible power — and in its own self-interest — by sharing some of the burden of protecting trade routes and using its influence on Iran to end the Houthi attacks on shipping.
