China’s successful arms trade with both Iran and Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War and the promotion of relations with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries benefited from the triangular relationship between the United States, the Soviet Union, and China. China still considered the Soviet Union the chief threat to its national security, because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Moscow’s support for Vietnam, and the presence of Soviet forces along the Sino-Soviet and Sino-Mongolian border.