Is China pivoting to the Gulf?

Charles Grant from the Centre for European Reform, recently provided a number of factors which may explain the situation: China's economic growth has surged at a time when the West is in crisis, making China's leaders more self-confident and less willing to accept Western tutelage. At the same time problems in Tibet and Xinjiang, and perhaps events in the Arab world, have made them feel insecure; the growth of nationalist postings on the internet has started to influence policy; and the leadership transition makes China’s leaders unwilling to be seen as soft on foreigners.