At the intersection of US power and China's growing global role, the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) could be uniquely positioned to take advantage of what some experts call a new cold war raging between the world's two largest economies.

Saood Al Suwaidi is an Emirati business student at the National University of Singapore. He told Al-Monitor that the United Arab Emirates's (UAE) relationship with China complements existing ties with the United States, offering further access to technologies and research and developments.

“Our relationship with China is also an opportunity for the UAE to gain exposure to a different culture, language, political system, mindset and discover new trade terms, legislations and ways of handling government,” Suwaidi said.

China is now the primary importer of the Gulf’s oil productions, and between 2016 and 2020 it invested more than $50 billion in GCC countries — much of that as part of the Belt and Road Initiative, primarily to strengthen a Chinese network of infrastructures connecting Asia, Africa and Europe.