Jordan's King seeks Chinese manufacturing and tourism ties amid US aid concerns

King Abdullah II arrived in Beijing this week, marking his first China trip in over a decade, to court Chinese firms for manufacturing, technology and tourism collaborations. In Shanghai he inspected AgiBot, a robotics maker, and pitched Jordan as a filming base for Asian audiences while highlighting its biblical pilgrimage sites for China's large Christian population. The kingdom's garment industry, built on Asian supply chains, now needs Chinese material inputs just as Washington tightens rules on goods that contain relabeled Chinese content, threatening to raise tariffs.

Jordan recently signed a four-year, $354.6 million U.S. aid package, but the aid focuses on budget and military support that the kingdom increasingly finds insufficient after an Iranian missile strike killed three American soldiers on its soil. By courting Chinese investment, Jordan hopes to fill revenue gaps left by waning U.S. assistance and to diversify its economy amid regional security risks.