TOKYO: Middle Eastern countries are rethinking their ties with China and looking towards nations such as Japan and South Korea as President-elect Donald Trump’s return to office this month is likely to intensify tensions with Beijing, Nikkei Asia has reported.

Major oil exporters Saudi Arabia and the UAE have traditionally been seen as pro-Washington but have also looked to diversify their business partners despite overtures from China.

Both countries have a long history of economic ties with Japan, exporting energy and importing automobiles, while other areas of cooperation have expanded rapidly in recent years.

China rapidly bolstered its presence in the region through infrastructure construction and industrial exports, overtaking Japan as the top buyer of crude oil in the process.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia’s recent drive to seek out AI and other advanced technologies has seen them invest huge sums of money in these fields as they seek to diversify their economies and rely less on energy exports.

With America dominating AI and other cutting-edge fields, pressure has grown on some countries in the region to give China the cold shoulder to avoid to any possibility of technology leaks.

Microsoft said in April that it would invest $1.5 billion in G42, and Abu Dhabi AI development company. US media reported that G42 promised to cut ties with Chinese companies that Washington has blacklisted, including Huawei Technologies.

It also has been reported that the US government is delaying the export of artificial intelligence chips made by semiconductor giant Nvidia and others to Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Middle East.

In the space development field, a plan to mount a UAE moon rover on China’s Chang’e 7 unmanned lunar probe was reported to have been halted by US regulations.

“[Middle East countries] can no longer rely solely on the US, but they also can’t get too close to China,” a Japanese expert on the Middle East was told Nikkei. “So, they’re shifting their attention to Japan.”

More than 20 Japanese companies, including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and NEC, visited the UAE recently to sell their space technology. Since Japan is a technologically advanced Asian country close to the US, it is in a good position to receive orders as the Middle East drifts away from China.

The opportunities are likely to extend to other Asian nations. South Korea signed an economic partnership agreement with the UAE in May, giving a boost to automobile and weapons exports, while India is also strengthening its presence, signing a cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia involving digital infrastructure.