As the United States undertakes another military venture in the Middle East, many in Washington are asking what an attack on Iran means for China. It has become increasingly common in U.S. political discourse to describe China and Iran, alongside Russia and North Korea, as an axis of “upheaval,” “chaos,” or “autocracy,” supposedly united in their efforts to undermine U.S. power and reshape the international order. Despite pushback that this is a mischaracterization of China’s foreign policy,