On July 8, 2026, Vice Chinese Foreign Minister Miao Deyu met with Omani National Security Council Secretary-General Idris Abdulrahman Al Kindi.A statement from China's Foreign Ministry following the meeting said that China "stands ready to work with the Omani side to continue to firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests, deepen the alignment between the Belt and Road Initiative and Oman Vision 2040" and "jointly safeguard regional peace and stability."The two officials also "had in-depth exchanges on regional hotspot issues of common concern," the ministry said. Al Kindi also met with Jin Xin, vice minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, who told the Omani official that the IDCPC is "ready to develop exchanges and cooperation with the Omani National Security Council," according to a statement.The statement added that Oman’s National Security Council hopes to "learn from the CPC's concepts on state governance and administration as well as the development experience, and promote cooperation between Oman and China in such fields as economy and trade, investment, industrial parks and tourism."The war with Iran may have made a lasting dent in US credibility across the region, especially among Gulf states that were directly exposed to Iranian drones and missiles. That has pushed Saudi Arabia and others to look harder at their own security architecture and to seek out partners that can provide leverage in trying to contain a less predictable Iran. That does not mean Saudi Arabia is abandoning the United States. But the war has offered lesson in the Gulf: When regional security is in flux, dependence on a single power is not a sound option.US-Oman tensionsHigh-level engagement between Muscat and Beijing is growing while Oman's relationship with Washington is under increasing strain. Once close partners, the relationship has soured since the US-Israel war with Iran. The main point of friction is the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway Oman shares with Iran.The southern shore of the strait lies along Oman's Musandam Peninsula. Before the war, Hormuz carried roughly a quarter of the global seaborne oil trade. International shipping lanes pass through Omani territorial waters, giving Muscat a key role in any discussions over the strait's future administration.Trump said during a White House cabinet meeting in late May that if Oman sought to control the Strait of Hormuz alongside Iran, "we'll have to blow them up."The memorandum of understanding signed by Iran and the US in mid-June included a provision for Tehran and Muscat to "conduct dialogue" on "the future administration and maritime services" of the Strait of Hormuz, in consultation with other Gulf littoral states.Later in June, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf met with Oman's prime minister, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, in Muscat to discuss management of the waterway. The two sides agreed to establish a joint working group to negotiate arrangements for navigation, maritime services and "the costs associated with them in accordance with international standards."The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Washington viewed Oman’s approach toward Tehran as at odds with US interests. Citing US and Arab officials, the newspaper said the Trump administration had pressed Oman to choose sides and consider cutting diplomatic ties with Iran.Omani officials did not comment on the report. But in a recent op-ed for Le Monde, Busaidi called for the recalibration of Oman’s ties with the US."At a minimum," Busaidi wrote, the new reality "requires a clear-eyed assessment of relationships with major partners such as the United States." He went as far as naming Israel as the most destabilizing force for Gulf security."The most serious threats to Gulf security do not originate within the region itself but from decisions made outside it, above all in Tel Aviv," the diplomat wrote.Muscat looks eastwardFor decades, the relationship between Beijing and Muscat has been "primarily driven by trade," Jalal Al-Shukaili, a foreign policy scholar based in Muscat, told Al-Monitor.According to China's Foreign Ministry, bilateral trade reached $36.7 billion in 2024. China is Oman’s largest trading partner, while Oman is China's fourth-largest trading partner among Arab states.By comparison, Oman-US trade totaled just $4.3 billion in 2024, according to the US Trade Representative.Shukaili argued that political ties have remained steady but secondary. Unlike many Gulf counterparts, "There have been no state visits between the leaders of the two countries, and military cooperation remains limited," Shukaili said.