China’s UN Veto on Syria May Not Hurt Ties With Gulf Oil Nations

China’s decision to join Russia in blocking United Nations action on Syria may carry little risk of economic reprisals from Persian Gulf states, the major oil suppliers that pushed to condemn the Assad regime.

“There won’t be an economic cost to China” for using its veto on Syria, Gal Luft, executive director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security in Washington, which studies the links between energy and security, said by e-mail. “Some Gulf states may cringe at China’s callousness on Syria, but at the same time those regimes are relieved by China’s adherence to its non-interventionist approach. After all, they’re hardly paragons of democracy.”