China Debates Its Future Role in the Middle East (original) (raw)

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'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 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 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 Debate on the Middle East and North Africa: A Critical Review

This article focuses on the impact of the growing instability of the Middle East and North Africa region on the evolution of Chinese foreign policy. A shift of the traditional foreign policy paradigm seems undergoing as a consequence of the US rebalancing in Asia-Pacific and the growing Chinese dependence on continental resources and stability. This chapter will try to identify this trend through a critical assessment of the most recent scholarly debate among Chinese experts from several key academic and institutional centers. The chapter will conclude by identifying some medium term trends in the evolution of Chinese strategy in this region and the potential space for cooperation with other external actors like United States

China’s Realism in the Middle East

Survival, 2019

Will China replace the US as the hegemon in the Middle East? Although its interests in and influence over the troubled region are increasing, there is in fact little reason to expect any major shift in China’s strategy. The United States may pull back from the Middle East, but any reduction in American forces or engagement there is likely to be highly calibrated. Beijing will seek to expand its influence in the region, but in a less forward way than the US, adopting more subtle means and a more flexible policy towards its partners. China’s foreign and security policy in the Middle East will probably remain pragmatic and restrained.

China's “Surge” in the Middle East and Its Implications for U.S. Interests

American Foreign Policy Interests, 2009

The emergence of the People's Republic of China as a major political, economic, and military force in the Middle East has had a great impact on United States foreign policy and strategic interests in a vital region of the globe. The article examines the motivations behind and the modalities that characterize the recent upsurge in Chinese engagements in a variety of sectors as well as how they are being perceived by Middle Eastern governments and people before concluding with several recommendations for American policy. Historical Background Contacts between the Greater Middle East and China go back at least 15 centuries, with Persian and Arab merchants and diplomats following the Silk Road to its eastern terminus at present-day Xi'an, capital of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), 3 as well as traveling to the Middle Kingdom by sea through the Spice Islands to southeastern ports like Guangzhou (Canton). From at least the period of the Mongol conquest and the subsequent establishment of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), China's rulers

China as an Alternative Power in Middle East: Its Outcomes for the Region's Future

Global Political Review

This research considers China's Middle East policies and commitments, including international alliances, regional disputes, and trade ties. It compiles information on arms transfers to the Middle East, as well as Chinese imports and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the region. Moreover, the study applies the power transition theory to justify the choice of Middle Eastern states that how external circumstances forced them to look beyond the American umbrella to protect the sovereignty and economic interest. Besides, the primary data has mostly been incorporated from the official files, speeches and statements of the Chinese president and Middle East diplomats and policymakers. Overall, this paper examines China's overall military, economic, and foreign footprint, shedding light on the state's current and potential involvement in the Middle East.

China-Middle East Relations: The role of Oil in China's Foreign Policy

China has shown a growing interest in the Middle East now that its economy replies too heavily on coal. This paper serves the purpose of outlining the what China stands to gain in it's quest for more control over the middle eastern oil and why this may be of growing concern to power balance in the region.