King Abdullah II is in Beijing this week, his first visit to China since 2015. The instinct in Washington will be to treat that as a warning sign: a treaty ally’s king courting Xi Jinping, right as commentators reach for words like “hedge” and “pivot.”

The honest answer to whether Washington should care is: a little, but not for that reason. Jordan isn’t choosing sides. It’s shopping for things the United States doesn’t sell.

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Start with what Jordan actually wants from Beijing. It isn’t a new patron. Chinese exports to Jordan hit $6.29 billion last year; Jordan sold back roughly $430 million. That’s not a partnership, it’s a customer relationship — and Amman knows it.

What Abdullah is shopping for is different: manufacturing, technology, tourists. In Shanghai, he toured AgiBot, a Chinese robotics manufacturer, and met with executives from leading Chinese corporations to pitch Jordan directly to industrial and commercial partners. He’s........

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