The Strategic Place of the Persian Gulf in China's Foreign Policy

China has been in a process of intensive industrialisation in recent years; and as a result، the country is now one of the largest growing economies in the world. Throughout the 197 s and 1980s، China was exporting oil، but in 1993 it became to an importer of oil. China''seconomic growth in recent years has turned the country into the second biggest consumer of energy and the third largest importer of crude oil in the world. The growing need forenergy has raised the issue of energy security for China. Despite the country’s effort for the diversification of sources of its importing oil، the country has become more and more dependent on the oil of the Persian Gulf. China''s current emphasis on the Persian Gulf as the energy market is historically unique. It is a relatively new player in the region; having no colonising history and unlike the US، not pursuing aggressive policies. The main question with which this study is concerned is: what is the significance of the Persian Gulf in China''s foreign policy? Using a descriptive-analytical method، this paper comes to the conclusion that the Persian Gulf enjoys an important and strategic weight in the Chinese foreign policy.