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Why are the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China not engaged in intense conflict despite their differences and ongoing tensions on several areas? This dissertation utilises the theoretical framework of strategic hedging to analyse how structural and systemic factors resulting from China-U.S. strategic competition have influenced Chinese Middle East policy and strategy towards the U.S. since the start of 2020. Through qualitative content analysis performed on a sample of documents from the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, the findings indicate that the PRC’s Middle East policy can indeed be regarded as strategic hedging behaviour. With this strategy, China aims to avoid confrontation with the United States and to optimise its competitive advantage vis-à-vis the U.S. in the long term. There are four criteria that 2020-2021 Chinese Middle Eastern policy fulfils to be labelled strategic hedging. Firstly, Beijing is improving its military and economic capabilities by strengthening bilateral and multilateral ties with Middle Eastern states and organisations through providing anti-pandemic aid and COVID-19 vaccines, and through intensified engagement in Middle Eastern security and energy cooperation. Simultaneously, Beijing offsets the loss of military or economic benefits provided by the United States as system leader through criticising the U.S. for its retreat from the JCPOA and for rescinding financial aid. Secondly, Chinese diplomacy preaches peaceful rise and an unassuming demeanour of non-confrontation in which any military build-up is said to be purely for the purpose of self-defence and in answer to external threats—including the U.S. itself. Thirdly, Chinese activities in the Middle East are of high-level strategic importance, and lastly, China is willing to strategically endure short-term costs that serve the purpose of securing future long term advantages for the nation in its rivalry with the United States. These costs include exporting vaccines despite domestic shortages, diplomatic endeavours surrounding the full reinstatement of the JCPOA, providing the Middle East with Chinese workers as well as peacekeepers and other military assistance, offering loans to Middle Eastern countries, and facing the repercussions from foreign anxiety regarding vaccine diplomacy and China’s rise. As such, this research confirms the presence of strategic hedging in Chinese 2020-2021 Middle East policy as a result of China-U.S. strategic competition and so contributes to the further development of the theory of strategic hedging and the study of China-U.S. strategic competition.