China in the Middle East

Dan Blumenthal has an essay about what China is doing in the Middle East, and how that relates the United States and the UN.

The Chinese government's Middle East policy is a winning gambit for Beijing. China can not only quench its thirst for oil but, at least in the short-term, also undercut external Islamist incitement aimed at its own Muslim population. By cultivating ties with Middle Eastern countries that have antagonistic relations with Washington, Beijing can undermine U.S. policy in the region. The more countries such as the Islamic Republic of Iran, Saudi Arabia, or Syria have ballistic missile capability and weapons of mass destruction, the more difficult it becomes for Washington to intervene in the Middle East in support of U.S. goals or in defense of its allies.

It is, he points out, that while the US looks to the Middle east for reform as a means of fighting terror, China looks to our invasive behavior into the region as a means of encircling China and moving NATO further east. In other words, our actions are interpreted as a challenge as China's only serious threat in the world, and our democratizing behavior is a threat to their one party system.
Think about it. What's the most crucial piece in why the UN has not been able to get involved with the Iranian Nuclear issue and the genocide in Darfur? China's veto on the Security Council.
Hat tip: Winds of Change.