Trump’s Middle East Tour: Is the Containment Line Around China Now Complete?

The essence of the AI era led by the United States lies not just in chips or data—but in electricity. This becomes clear when we examine how AI functions at its core. Training today's generative AI models requires massive amounts of electricity—ranging from thousands to millions of megawatt-hours (MWh). For instance, according to a report on the 11th, Seoul National University’s Gwanak and Yeongeon campuses recorded an all-time high power consumption of 235,420 MWh in 2023. A university official explained, “AI research really accelerated in 2022, and for the first time we exceeded 200,000 MWh. Even with power from KEPCO and our own engineering campus plants running at full capacity, we couldn’t meet demand.” In short, the idea that AI ‘feeds on electricity’ is no exaggeration—it is fact.

Cooling, Water, Infrastructure—The Hidden Resource War

That’s not the end of it. Massive amounts of cooling and water are required for AI computation. For the AI industry to scale, it needs not just code and chips but reliable energy supply and infrastructure. And at the center of that equation lie not renewables, but base-load energy sources like nuclear and oil. The real challenge, then, is strategic: how can nations and corporations secure this enormous amount of energy on a consistent basis? Once we accept that AI is fundamentally built on carbon-intensive energy, the availability, pricing, and control of that energy becomes central to who dominates the AI future. Which brings us to the geopolitical reappearance of the Middle East.

From Post-Oil to Post-Chip: The Middle East’s Strategic Shift

The Middle East is still the world’s largest reservoir of carbon-based energy. And now, its value as a potential demand center for AI is rapidly increasing. Countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are not only embracing AI, but actively investing in infrastructure—building data centers, establishing cloud zones, and supporting AI research. Their "post-oil" strategies are clear: no longer just exporting oil in exchange for technology, they now aim to build their own domestic ecosystems by leveraging their energy surplus to leapfrog into future industries. This presents both an opportunity and a threat to the United States and China.

The Middle East is uniquely positioned: it can provide the energy AI systems need, and it’s willing to become a serious consumer of AI technology. Holding both sides of that equation, the region is emerging as a decisive strategic node in the global AI power struggle. This is why former President Trump’s recent visit to the Middle East was not just another diplomatic event. It must be interpreted as a geopolitical maneuver to export the U.S.-style AI ecosystem while blocking China’s expansion.

The trip was clearly part of a broader power contest. Why else would Trump pursue mega-deals with Nvidia, Cisco, AMD, and other core U.S. AI firms during that visit? The timing, scope, and message of the deals are too precise to be commercial alone. From a geopolitical perspective, it was the strategic construction of an AI containment line, and a clear bid to extend the U.S.-led technology order.

Fast Technology, but Deep Vulnerabilities in China

For China, this shift is clearly uncomfortable. While China has made rapid strides in AI, with companies like DeepSeek at the forefront, its path is structurally different from America’s. One major vulnerability is technology itself. Much of China’s AI capabilities still rely on American technology—GPUs, semiconductors, and foundational algorithms. Developing these independently will take time and enormous resources. But even more serious is the issue of energy. China lacks sufficient domestic power infrastructure to support high-scale AI operations. In reality, it depends heavily on imported energy—especially from Russia and the Middle East. If the U.S. solidifies its grip on the Middle East, China risks disruption to one of its critical energy lifelines.

Moreover, AI doesn’t run on energy and code alone—it needs demand. High-end AI technologies are expensive to train, deploy, and maintain, meaning their customers are largely limited to advanced economies and global corporations. Most of those nations—North America, Northeast Asia, and parts of Europe—are in the U.S. orbit. Even if China develops excellent technology, if its access to global buyers is blocked, it will remain constrained to its domestic market. Possessing strong technology without global demand or reliable energy supply reduces its geopolitical leverage. The one region capable of offsetting both weaknesses is the Middle East.

The Middle East: China’s Last Strategic Anchor

For China, the Middle East represents both an affordable and reliable source of energy, and one of the few regions still open to becoming a serious AI partner. That’s what makes Trump’s visit so strategically troubling for Beijing. It’s not just diplomacy—it’s a strategic blow that fractures China’s AI triangle: technology, energy, and demand. The U.S. controls the tech. Energy routes are being reshuffled. Demand is being pre-empted. The result? China can still build AI, but it may not have the power to run it—or the markets to sell it.

AI Is Now a Strategic Asset—And Investors Must Adjust

This is the moment when investors need to reframe how they view AI. It’s no longer just a story of technological innovation. It’s a structural pillar in the global power realignment. Technology, energy, and geopolitics are now fused. Investors who fail to see this will miss the structural flows that shape capital allocation and market leadership. The U.S. is expanding its influence by controlling technology and offering access to AI infrastructure in exchange for alignment. China, while advancing technologically, faces increasing constraints in both scaling and commercializing that progress. At the heart of it all, once again, lies the Middle East.

What happens in the Middle East in the coming years will not be just regional news. It will be a decisive factor in the trajectory of AI, the future of capital flows, and the reconfiguration of global power. We need to pay attention. Because in a world where energy powers technology, and technology defines order, and order guides money—control over energy becomes control over the future. The Middle East is back at the center of that equation. And understanding that is no longer optional—it’s what sets apart the smart investor.