In Trump's remarkable Nahe -East tour, everything revolves around striking megadeals and the exit from China

There has never been a US presidential visit to the Middle East like this.

This week, success is not measured by conventional diplomacy, peace transactions or weapon sales, although Donald Trump has achieved some news by increasing sanctions against the Syrian leadership and who asked the Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman at the conclusion of Abraham's agreement with Israel and agreed with a 142 -dollar package for Riyade.

What distinguishes Trump's visit is the focus on the hundreds of billions of dollars of new investments in the United States (Saudi Arabia alone). Gulf Partners will measure the success through the willingness of the Trump government to increase restrictions on the sale of hundreds of thousands of advanced semiconductor chips to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Trump will also measure success through his ability to over -maneuver China to ensure a closer relationship with golf monarchies than the Chinese, even though Beijing is her biggest customer for fossil fuels.

It is not the case that security threats or peace negotiations have disappeared in the Middle East. There is the war in Gaza and the publication of the American Geisel Edan Alexander this week. There are new efforts to curb the potential of Iranian nuclear weapons through negotiations. And there is Trump's dream to find a way to Saudi-Israeli diplomatic normalization (and ongoing progress towards a civilian nuclear agreement with the kingdom).

However, my conversations with high -ranking officials from the Middle East, who were involved in the planning of Trump's trip, underlined that the overwhelming focus was on shops. The Trump government would rather swim in a stream of golf investments than to capture the persistent problems of the region.

In an extraordinary speech in riyadh that set the tone for all that will follow, Trump Said: “Before ours, a new generation of leaders is transcending the ancient conflicts and tied divisions of the past, and forging a future where the middle east is defined by Commerce; Exports Technology, Not Terrorism;

The golf money competition is also about gaining the upper hand in the continuing trade and technology competition of the Trump government at Beijing. This remains Washington's overarching goal, despite the dramatic news on Monday morning, that the two countries would de-escalate their confrontation by reescaling the tariffs from 145 percent to 30 percent on the US side and from 125 percent to 10 percent on the Chinese team during a ninety-day break for further negotiations.

In this sense, part of the great news that flies under the radar, Trump's decision to lower the “AI diffusion rule of the bidges”, which have included the export of advanced semiconductor chips to countries that have included the United Arab Emirates and the Saudi Arabia in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

The New York Times reported that the Trump administration in conjunction with the rule change is considering a deal that would send hundreds of thousands of the most advanced US-American artificial intelligence chips (AI) chips to G42, a AI company Emirati, who lowered its connections to Chinese partners to work with us.

“The ongoing negotiations underline a great change in US technology policy before President Trump's visit” New York Times reported that the tension within the administration between those who strive to promote US trade and technological lead over China and national security officers who continue to take care of the violation of critical technologies for Beijing.

On Tuesday, the White House also revealed business with Saudi Arabia, which contained an obligation by the new state AI company, Humain, with several hundred thousand advanced Nvidia chips in the next five years. Humain and Amazon Web Services also announced plans to invest more than five billion dollars in a strategic partnership in order to build up a unique “AI zone” in the kingdom-part of the developing ambitions of Riyadh to be a global AI leader.

The argument Emirati and Saudi Arabia is that if you want to restrict your advanced technological relationships with China in global AI deserts, you want to restrict the argument of the Emirati and Saudi argument when you restrict your advanced technological relations with China and remove the restrictions on its technology.

During the first term in Trump and during the bid administration, there was a long-term debate within the US government as to whether the United States should try to prevent China from maintaining advanced chips, or instead only try to stay a technologically before Chinese one or two generations. This debate was enclosed: China – as Deepseek is most visible – will find a way to avoid the US restrictions to make greater progress. In order for the United States to remain one or two steps or two in advance, new investments and partnerships must be required. This shift is the heart of what we experience this week in the Middle East.

Trump's movements this week underline its seriousness of the purpose, but the battle was far from winning. Trump, the exhausting peace pent, will still try to increase business for Gaza and Iran, as unsafe as they are, but Trump, the dealmaker, has a clearer way to close artificial intelligence and investment offers that have higher and achievable priorities this week.

Frederick Kempe is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Atlantic Council. You can follow him on X: @Fredkempe.

This edition is part of Frederick Kempe's flexion points -Frederick Kempe, a column of shipments from a world in the transition. To receive this newsletter during the week, Register here.

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Tue, May 13, 2025

Four energy transactions that Trump will go on on his Middle East trip

Energy tource
From
Ellen Wald

The upcoming journey of President Trump to the Middle East will focus on the further development of energy and trade agreements, including securing golf investments to US production, increasing US imports, deepening the nuclear cooperation with Saudi Arabia and reducing oil production obligations. In the end, these efforts aim to promote wider geopolitical goals – the Russian influence and strengthening of the US -energy dominance.

Image: US President Donald Trump arrives on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Riad, Saudi Arabia, and is greeted by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who starts a four-day momentum through the golf region. Photo by Saudi Press Agency Handout via Eyepress and Reuters.