Soft balancing strategy in the Middle East: Chinese and Russian vetoes in the United Nations Security Council in the Syria crisis

Since the event popularly termed the 'Arab spring' and the changing balance of power in the Middle East, where China has economic interests, there has been a conspicuous balancing behaviour against the United States, the sole superpower. This article discusses whether the Chinese and Russian vetoes on Syria can be interpreted as a potential threat to counterbalance American moves in world politics, particularly in the Middle East. After abstaining on the no-fly zone over Libya, China vetoed thrice on the Syrian crisis. Beijing used its position to frame the agenda of the Security Council and to indirectly challenge US objectives in the region. China's diplomatic cooperation and coordination with Russia displays their mutual determination to check the US' moves in United Nations Security Council (UNSC) debates on the Syrian crisis. Yet, China is still very cautious about confronting the US directly or antagonising it, realising that it is still much weaker than Washington, and would gain nothing from such actions. Therefore, the Chinese strategy is to not engage in hard balancing behaviour, but in soft balancing which allows for the creation of strategic relationships through which hard balancing can occur in the future.