The Chinese regime is one of the discreet actors in the war that has been going on in the Middle East for over 60 days. Discreet, but omnipresent, especially in the mind of the American president. Donald Trump has been obsessed with China for a long time and does not take his eyes off it.
**Fertilizer shortage, strategic metals production… The war in the Middle East is weighing on the sulfur and sulfuric acid market and threatening the global economy.
At the beginning of his term, Trump’s goal was to break the bond between China and Russia, by bringing Putin back to his senses in order to deprive Beijing of a key ally. For example, the battle he has fought for a year and a half to regain control of the Panama Canal from China, which had the keys; or the battle he waged to regain control of Venezuela’s oil, which largely benefits China. Another example: Trump’s urge to buy Greenland. It is also explained by the fact that the area could become a commercial route in the coming years, especially for China.
The battle he is waging in the Middle East, with the war against Iran, fits into this logic: attacking Tehran is actually another way to weaken China. Beijing controls 13% of Iranian oil and over a third of the oil produced in the Gulf. The Chinese regime is a military partner of Iran. It is suspected of supplying weapons to Tehran. China in the Middle East means billions of euros in investments, and hundreds of millions of tons of goods currently stuck in the Strait of Hormuz.
**Strait of Hormuz: China’s suspicious games, accused of aiding Iran.
The war also complicates life for the Chinese and worries Beijing. This week, China’s number one Xi Jinping personally delivered the message: he explained during an exchange with Saudi Prince Mohamed Bin Salman that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open.
“Lorsque le sage montre la lune, l’idiot regarde le doigt” (Chinese proverb)
To explain Trump’s Chinese obsession, it is best to make a non-exhaustive list:
– China has become a scientific superpower.
– China has become a military superpower, allocating 238 billion euros for defense this year.
– China is the 3rd country in the world in terms of nuclear warheads, and Washington accuses Beijing of wanting to have more than 1,000 nuclear warheads, compared to about 400 today.
– China has the most billionaires in the world: over 1,100 out of approximately 4,000 worldwide.
– China has a monopoly on rare earths.
Conclusion: China is on track to become the world’s leading power, and Donald Trump does not want that.
>**Donald Trump will visit Beijing in mid-May to meet Xi Jinping.
/2026/04/25/69ec9c1e4b363363672660.jpg "Shots by settlers, expansion of colonies… What is the situation in the West Bank, where Palestinians are voting in the first elections since the Gaza war?")
