Jordan's King Abdullah courts China while keeping Washington close

Jordan’s King Abdullah II departed for China on Monday seeking deeper economic ties with Beijing at a moment when his country is trying to navigate an increasingly complicated relationship with the world’s major powers.

The trip is not a pivot away from Washington, Jordan’s most important security partner and a major source of aid. But, Jordanian officials and analysts see it as part of a broader effort by Amman to widen its options, particularly on investment, technology and infrastructure, while preserving an alliance with the United States that remains central to the kingdom’s security.

King Abdullah is expected to meet on Tuesday with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress, according to Jordan’s Royal Court. He is also travelling with an economic delegation and is due to meet executives from major Chinese companies.

The visit comes as Jordan faces mounting pressures from conflicts around it and seeks a larger role in regional diplomacy. Amman has maintained contacts with both Washington and Tehran in recent months while trying to shield itself from the fallout of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Nidal al-Taani, former chairman of the Jordanian parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said the kingdom had long sought to diversify its political and economic partnerships.

The China trip, he said, amounted to a “policy of diversifying partnerships, not a policy of disengagement”.

That distinction is important for Jordan.

The United States remains deeply embedded in the kingdom’s security and defence architecture, while Jordan’s geography gives it an importance to Washington that far exceeds the relatively modest size of its economy.

But Amman also sees an opportunity in China, particularly as Beijing expands its economic and diplomatic presence across the region.

Taani described Jordan as an “important gateway and transit point” for future regional arrangements, arguing that its location and relationships with competing powers give it an important diplomatic role.

For Jordan, the challenge is to turn closer ties with China into tangible economic gains without provoking retribution by Washington.

Hassan Abdullah Al-Dajeh, a member of the World Council for Chinese Studies, said Beijing could offer Jordan investment, technology, infrastructure financing and greater access to Chinese markets.

The king’s decision to bring an economic delegation and meet Chinese business leaders, he said, underscored the commercial ambitions behind the trip.

But there are limits to how far that relationship can go.

Chinese investment in energy, water, transport and civilian technology would be relatively straightforward, Dajeh said. Greater Chinese involvement in sensitive telecommunications networks, dual-use ports, security-related artificial intelligence or defence procurement could prove far more difficult because of Jordan’s extensive military and intelligence cooperation with the United States.

“Amman can look east economically, but the ceiling of its manoeuvring remains governed by its security alliance with the United States and its ability to reassure both sides,” Dajeh said.

Jordan has little incentive to choose between the two powers.

Instead, its approach reflects a strategy increasingly visible among regional governments that retain close security relationships with Washington while looking to China for investment, trade and technology.