China's equidistant policy in the Middle East (original) (raw)

China in the Middle East

The Middle East is of major interest to China because it supplies half of the country’s imported oil. • The security and stability of the Middle Eastern Nations are of major importance to China, but Beijing is reluctant to get too deeply enmeshed in the region’s complex politics. • New dynamics in the Middle East beg not just an economic but also a geopolitical response from

China and Middle East Security Issues: Challenges, Perceptions and Positions

Rome, IAI, August 2020, 21 p. (IAI Papers ; 20|23), ISBN 978-88-9368-143-8, 2020

The Middle East and Gulf region face three drivers of tension and instability: those caused by the US's erratic and unilateral policies, those tied to economic underdevelopment and those linked to growing competition among regional actors. China is and will be facing economic challenges stemming from the Middle East and will face growing calls to assume more active roles in the region, roles which however often go beyond its capabilities or interests. China's approach to regional security can be categorised as promoting political solutions to disputes, contributing to economic development and providing security resources within the UN framework. China backs regional efforts to achieve peace and security via dialogue, also including extra-regional actors involved in the Middle East. China is sympathetic to Russia's vision for regional security cooperation, and would support the convening of an international conference on Middle East security issues that includes specific roles for regional and external actors.

China's Foreign Policy in the Middle East

The importance of energy rich Middle East region for competing oil dependent economies of China and U.S.A is becoming more intriguing calling for cautious analytical insights for a better understanding. The convergence of interest of U.S and China coupled with the volatile political environment associated with this region questions the notion of " peaceful rise of China " , the nature of its role in the region, and its commitment to retain neutrality which is analyzed in this paper by drawing inferences from its overall foreign policy behavior in the global affairs China is emerging as an influential actor in international politics owing to its massive economic strength coupled with rapidly developing military might and advancements in science and technology. China " s journey of development is necessarily hinged upon an uninterrupted supply of energy which is the life line of both its economic and military prowess and in that context the importance of oil rich Middle East region becomes manifold owing to the major chunks of the crude oil china imports from this region. The strategic importance of Middle East region for the U.S.A is also an established fact that presents an interesting case study for analyzing future course of China-U.S strategic relations.

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.

China`s Foreign Policy Towards the Middle East: Trends and Challenges

The Journal of Modern China Studies, 2016

In this paper, we address the following issues that shape the Chinese foreign policy in the middle east: 1) Military interests, where we track the military interests of China in the region and the main motives behind it and the position of China on the global war on terrorism, 2) Political aspects with a focus on the long lasting Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, and 3) Economic aspects with emphasis on the importance of the Middle East as an energy import partner, necessary for the Chinese economic development, besides the arm sales to a region witnessing several military conflicts. We conclude that the Chinese relations with the middle east has witnessed a shift from ideology-characterized foreign policy into a more realist foreign policy putting the Chinese national interests at the core. We also conclude that China will continue to pursue its economic interests in the region without direct military involvement, as opposed to the U.S. foreign policy in the region. The military presence might be enforced in to protect the future new silk road, which connects Asia and Europe.

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, ...

CHINA'S EVOLVING MIDDLE EAST ROLE

ISDP POLICY PAPERS, 2016

Under the leadership of Xi Jinping, China has sought to further consolidate and diversify its relations in the Middle East. This comes on the back of the Chinese lead-er’s Middle East tour in January and the articulation of a new “Arab Policy” unveiled in the same month. Focused on energy, trade, and transport, China is seeking to maximize its economic ties and interests in the region. In particular, Middle Eastern oil supplies remain critical for China’s con-tinued economic development. However, becoming more engaged in the region brings with it a number of implica-tions, not least that Beijing will find it necessary to balance its ties between Sunni and Shia countries.

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 Arab World and the Middle East

2019

after a decade of absence in the Middle east, china is returning to the region as one of the main "external" players. china's foreign policy identifies an extensive area which it calls the "The Great Middle east" (da Zhong dong). it includes West asia and north africa (xi ya Bei Fei), and parts of central and south asia, as the area of greatest geopolitical interest. The increasingly intensive cooperation between china and the arab countries can be characterized as a "natural partnership" created both on the basis of historical heritage and cultural understanding, and on the basis of compatibility regarding the goals for national reconstruction and aspirations for economic development. due to the newly reached understanding, china significantly raised the status of the Middle east in its diplomatic architecture.