China and the Middle East Since Tiananmen (original) (raw)

China and the Middle East (1950-1988): A changing framework of relations

1991

This study examines China's relations with the Middle East. Its primary objective is to determine to what extent, and in what ways, China's involvement with the region has evolved. To accomplish this aim I have adopted an historical approach, examining China's relations with the Middle East between 1950 and 1988. The study is therefore subdivided into seven chapters, each of which treats a 'distinctive' period in the history of China's foreign relations since the founding of the PRC in 1949. For purposes of this study, the 'Middle East' is defined as the 'zone of Arab--Israeli confrontation', comprising the states of Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria as well as including the PLO; plus the Persian Gulf, with emphasis on the states of Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Each chapter begins with a discussion of China's relations with the superpowers, and with developing countries. By indicating China's general foreign policy concerns, the...

CHINA AND THE MIDDLE EAST: VENTURING INTO THE MAELSTROM

China’s increasingly significant economic and security interests in the Middle East have several impacts. It affects not only its energy security but also its regional posture, relations with regional powers as well as the United States, and efforts to pacify nationalist and Islamist Uighurs in its north-western province of Xinjiang. Those interests are considerably enhanced by China’s One Belt, One Road initiative that seeks to patch together a Eurasian land mass through inter-linked infrastructure, investment and expanded trade relations. Protecting its mushrooming interests is forcing China to realign its policies and relationships in the region. As it takes stock of the Middle East and North Africa’s volatility and tumultuous, often violent political transitions, China feels the pressure to acknowledge that it no longer can remain aloof to the Middle East and North Africa’s multiple conflicts. China’s long-standing insistence on non-interference in the domestic affairs of others, refusal to envision a foreign military presence and its perseverance that its primary focus is the development of mutually beneficial economic and commercial relations, increasingly falls short of what it needs to do to safeguard its vital interests. Increasingly, China will have to become a regional player in competitive cooperation with the United States, the dominant external actor in the region for the foreseeable future. The pressure to revisit long-standing foreign and defence policy principles is also driven by the fact that China’s key interests in the Middle East and North Africa have expanded significantly beyond the narrow focus of energy despite its dependence on the region for half of its oil imports.1 Besides the need to protect its investments and nationals, China has a strategic stake in the stability of countries across the Eurasian landmass as a result of its One Belt, One Road initiative and the threat of blowback in Xinjiang of unrest in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. China has signalled its gradual recognition of these new realities with the publication in January 2016 of an Arab Policy Paper, the country’s first articulation of a policy towards the Middle East and North Africa. But, rather than spelling out specific policies, the paper reiterated the generalities of China’s core focus in its relations with the Arab world: economics, energy, counter-terrorism, security, technical cooperation and its One Belt, One Road initiative. Ultimately however, China will have to develop a strategic vision that outlines foreign and defence policies it needs to put in place to protect its expanding strategic, geopolitical, economic, and commercial interests in the Middle East and North Africa; its role and place in the region as a rising superpower in the region; and its relationship and cooperation with the United States in managing, if not resolving conflict.

DECIPHERING CHINA IN THE MIDDLE EAST

EU ISS Brief, 2020

As a relative newcomer to the region, China has already made significant inroads in the Middle East: many regional states have welcomed its presence and shown eagerness to become involved in its ambitious ‘Belt and Road Initiative’. › The fact that China does not attach any conditions to trade relationships means that its engagement is positively perceived by many states in the region, including US regional allies, much to the dismay of Washington. › Given its status as the second-largest economy in the world, China’s economic penetration of the Middle East inevitably has far-reaching foreign policy and security implications. It remains to be seen if the region turns into an arena of struggle for a new world order between the US and China, which would also have far-reaching implications for the EU.

China’s Role in the Middle East: Current Debates and Future Trends

China Quarterly of International Strategic Studies, 2017

There are two prevailing arguments among international observers about China’s role in the Middle East. One is that China has been a “security free-rider;” the other is that China is fundamentally a business-seeker. Yet neither of the two is well-grounded. If viewed comprehensively rather than in terms of military engagement alone, China’s contribution to stability and security of the region is enormous, and its role in the Middle East can be described as a combination of a major economic partner, a low-profile mediator and a modest but important provider of security public goods. As China has proposed various new concepts and initiatives as guidelines of its foreign policy, its future policy toward the Middle East can be best understood through its increasing efforts to promote the “Belt and Road” initiative, to develop a new-type major-power relationship, and to uphold justice and pursue shared interests with all related countries. With ever more Chinese engagement in the region, ...

THE NEW ROLE OF CHINA IN THE MIDDLE EAST-conference program.pdf

The Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs in cooperation with the School of Law of the University of Nicosia and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) is organizing a Symposium entitled THE NEW ROLE OF CHINA IN THE MIDDLE EAST The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Broader Repercussions Thursday, January 17, 2019 09:00 – 18:00 UNESCO Amphitheatre, Europa Building University of Nicosia

China’s Relations with the Middle East: A Perspective from the Region

International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) Newsletter News from Northeast Asia: Northeast Asia’s engagements with the Middle East Regional Editor: Ilhong Ko China’s relations with the Middle East: A perspective from the region - Ceren Ergenc China and the Middle East: Old friends in a new era - Tingyi Wang Relations between Japan and the Middle East - Akiko Yoshioka Reinventing the Middle East? South Korea’s engagements with the Gulf amid geopolitical conflicts - June Park

China, the Middle East, and the reshaping of world order: The case of Iran

Copenhagen: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), 2019

Geostrategy and the China-US rivalry US priorities in the Middle East China, Iran and regional balances of power China and the Middle East The strategic importance of the Persian Gulf The Shia Crescent: conflicts to be drawn into The growing economic involvement of China in the Persian Gulf after 9/11