As America imports less energy from the region and China imports more, it risks becoming the “new U.S.” in the Middle East.

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Energy security is a big concern for both the United States and China, though the latter typically sees it as a supply side issue: secure as much as possible to fill what it sees as endless future demand. For the U.S., having tied much of its energy fate to the Middle East for the last several decades, energy security meant building robust military capabilities to defend its interests and maintain open sea lanes for trade. The Chinese, of course, also depended on the U.S. provision of security as its energy imports from the Arab world expanded dramatically.

But the prevailing dynamic is changing rapidly, and it seems to be unnerving Beijing. Here’s why:

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