China and Arab World (original) (raw)

The relationship between China and the larger Arab World is not merely a recent outcome of the economic rise of China and its growing dependence on Arab energy resources, as many assume, but it goes back to the distant past when the cultural and commercial engagement between the two ancient civilisations along the Silk Road was very vibrant. The trade in jades, silk and other luxury goods went on for centuries along the route of Europe and Asia which today is known as the Silk Road. The role of Chinese admiral Zheng He1 (1371-1433) is well-known in the annals of the Arab-China relationship as he played a pioneering role in deepening cultural and commercial ties between the Arab and China. The Chinese official accounts describe the Hui (Chinese Muslims) as a melting pot of Muslims who came from various ethnicities of the Arab World and Central Asia, and mingled with the Han Chinese and shaped a new cultural landscape but continued to preserve their own distinct religious identity.In the past, Arab traders were thronging the route of the Silk Road but not long after the discovery of the sea route, the Arab traders lost their centuries-old monopoly over trade and their position was usurped by the Europeans who made the Asia-Europe trade shorter, faster and cheaper. With the emergence of the European traders, the fortunes of the Arab traders faded and gradually economic and political balances shifted towards the West.