China's economy, which this past week reported its lowest annual economic growth in nearly 30 years amid a prolonged trade dispute with the United States, is faced with a new troubling source of U.S.-related instability: rising tensions in the Middle East.
The U.S. airstrike that killed a top Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani, just three days into the new decade has sparked a global fear of another war in the Middle East, which would further destabilize the world's biggest oil producing region.
China has substantially reduced its dependence on Iranian oil since the U.S. re-imposed sanctions against Iran in November 2018.