China’s Policy on the Middle East Peace Process after the Cold War

Abstract

This article focuses on China’s policy towards the peace process in the Middle East after the end of the Cold War and the American influence on Chinese policy. China has always charted its policy on the Arab-Israeli peace process to be ‘balanced diplomacy’, maintaining friendly relations with Arab countries, while not neglecting its relationship with Israel. Furthermore, China’s policy regarding the Israeli-Arab peace process contains contradictory elements in its dual relations with the ‘peace camp’ and the ‘radical camp’ in the Middle East. Chinese diplomacy finds itself in a complex dilemma, balancing the perils and prospects of its economic and strategic goals in the Middle East and the international arena. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China states that it shares the great burden of ensuring that the Middle Eastern peace process is managed correctly. However, its declaration is merely diplomatic rhetoric; Beijing does not actively endeavour to advance the peace process but is mainly interested in promoting its own economic interests and balancing the US hegemony in the region. Therefore, its approach is chiefly one of conflict management, rather than conflict resolution. Paradoxically, by trying to maintain good economic relations with everyone, it helps strengthen forces opposed to peace, such as Iran and Hamas.

Keywords

China peace process Middle East US

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Al-Rodhan

Khalid R.

2007. ‘A Critique of the China Threat Theory: A Systematic Analysis,’ Asian Perspective, Vol. 31, No. 3, 41–66.

Alterman

Jon B.

Garver

John W.

2008. The Vital Triangle: China, the United States and the Middle East. Washington, D.C.: The CSIS Press.

BBC News . 2006. ‘China Ups Lebanon Force to 1,000’, 18 September.

Chaziza

Mordechai

. 2010. China’s Foreign Policy in the Middle East after the Cold War: Iraq, Iran and the Arab-Israeli Peace Process. Doctoral dissertation, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.

China Daily . 2002 ‘China Voices Concern about Business Interests in the Middle East’, 10 April 2002.

China Daily . 2006. ‘Sino-Arab Forum to Focus on New Partnership’, 18 May.

China Daily . 2010. ‘China, Saudi Arabia to Boost Trade’, 12 January.

China View . 2006a. ‘Israel, Palestine hope China Joins Mideast Quartet’, 15 December.

China Daily . _2006b. ‘China Holds Seminar on Mideast Peace’, 16 December.

10.

Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in San Francisco. 2008. ‘Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Jiang Yu’s Regular Press Conference on January 22, 2008’, http://www.chinaconsulatesf.org/eng/xw/fyrth/t402395.htm (accessed on 13 March 2012).

11.

Contessi

Nicola P.

2009. ‘Experiments in Soft Balancing: China Led Multilateralism in Africa and the Arab World’, Autumn, Vol. 3, No. 4, 404–34.

12.

Cowell

Alan

. 2010. ‘China Renews Opposition to Iran Sanctions’, New York Times, 4 February.

13.

Deng-Ker

Lee

. 1994. ‘Peking’s Middle East Policy in the Post-Cold War Era’, Issues and Studies, Vol. 30, No. 8, 69–88.

14.

Downs

Erica S.

2004. ‘The Chinese Energy Security Debate’, The China Quarterly, Vol. 177, 21–41.

15.

Downs

Erica S.

2006. ‘The Brookings Foreign Policy Studies Energy Security Series: China’, Brookings Institution, http://www3.brookings.edu/fp/research/energy/2006china.pdf (accessed on 13 March 2012).

16.

Downs

Erica

Maloney

Suzanne

. 2011. ‘Getting China to Sanction Iran: The Chinese-Iranian Oil Connection’, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 90, No. 2, 15–21.

17.

DPA (Deutsche Presse-Agentur) 2000. ‘US Presses Israel to Delay Arms Deal with China’, 30 April.

18.

Egypt State Information Service. 2011. ‘Egyptian-Chinese Relations’, 5 July, http://www.sis.gov.eg/en/LastPage.aspx?Category_ID=194 (accessed on 13 March 2012).

19.

Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Hellenic Republic. 2002. ‘Foreign Ministry Spokesperson’s Press Conference on April 18. 2002,’ http://gr.chinaembassy.org/eng/ztlm/lxjzzdh/zdh2002/zdh200204/t145990.htm .

20.

Energy Information Administration. 2008. ‘Short-Term Energy Outlook’, February, http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/steo/pub/xls/Fig5.xls (accessed on 13 March 2012).

21.

Friedberg

Aaron L.

2005. ‘The Future of U.S.-China Relations,’ International Security, Vol. 30, No. 2, 7–45.

22.

Gertz

Bill

1999. ‘US Opposes Israel-China Military Deal’, The Washington Times, 12 November.

23.

Gordon

Michael R.

1993. ‘Israel Selling China Military Technology, C.I.A. chief asserts’, New York Times, 12 October.

24.

Grimmett

Richard.

2003. ‘Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations. 1995–2002’, Congressional Research Service, 22 September, http://www.fas.org/man/crs/RL32084.pdf (accessed on 13 March 2012).

25.

Guardian . 2005a. ‘US Acts over Israeli Arms Sales to China’, 13 June.

26.

Guardian . 2005b. ‘Israel Scraps Arms Deal with China’, 27 June, http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/85255db800470aa485255d8b004e349a/ddc83d6725ded9b285256cae00674fb6!OpenDocument .

27.

Kan

Naim

. 2008. ‘Israel: No. 12 in Imports of Chinese Workers,’ 10 February.

28.

Kaplan

Allison

1991. ‘US Officials say Israel to Sell Aircraft Technology to Beijing’, The Jerusalem Post, 9 December.

29.

Kohut

John

. 1993. ‘Middle East Role Urged; Li Lukewarm on Rabin Peace Role Plea’, South China Morning Post, 12 October.

30.

Kumaraswamy

P. R

. 1999. ‘Introduction’, in Kumaraswamy

P. R.

(ed.), China and the Middle East: The Quest for Influence. New Delhi: SAGE Publications, 11–19.

31.

Kumaraswamy

P. R

. 2005. ‘Israel-China Relations and the Phalcon Controversy’, Middle East Policy, Vol. 12, No. 2, 93–101.

32.

Kumaraswamy

P. R

. 2006. ‘The Sino-Israeli Marriage: Washington, the Third “Other”’, China Report, Vol. 42, No. 4, 393–403.

33.

Chunlong

Jie

Chen

. 2007. ‘China’s Middle East Policy since the Post-Mao Reform’, in Covarrubias

Jack

Lansford

Tom

(eds), Strategic Interest in the Middle East:Opposition or Support for US Foreign Policy. Aldershot and Hants: Ashgate, 81–95.

34.

Medeiros

Evan S.

2009. China’s International Behaviour: Activism, Opportunism, and Diversification. Palo Alto, CA: RAND Corporation.

35.

MENA News Agency . 1997a. ‘Chinese Foreign Minister calls for Israeli Withdrawal from Palestinian areas’, 28 December.

36.

MENA News Agency . 1997b. ‘Chinese Foreign Minister calls for Israeli Withdrawal from Palestinian areas’, 29 December.

37.

National Bureau of Statistics of China. 2005. China Statistical Yearbook 2005. Beijing: China Statistics Press.

38.

New York Times . 1992. ‘If Israel Sold Patriot Secrets’, 20 March.

39.

Perlez

Jane

. 2000. ‘Israel Drops Plan to Sell Air Radar to China Military’, New York Times, 13 July.

40.

Pham

Peter J.

2009. ‘China’s ‘Surge’ in the Middle East and its Implications for U.S. interests’, American Foreign Policy Interests, Vol. 31, 177–93.

41.

Ribao

Renmin.

2003. ‘Israeli President Expects China to Contribute More to Mideast Peace Process’, 14 December, http://english.people.com.cn/200312/14 (accessed on 13 March 2012).

42.

Ribao

Renmin

. 2004. ‘China’s Participation in Middle East Peace Process Welcomed: Egyptian Assistant FM’, 23 November.

43.

Rubin

Barry

. 1998. ‘Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab States,’ Security and Policy Studies, No. 36, 3–24. Ramat Gan, Israel: The Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies, Bar-Ilan University.

44.

Rynhold

Jonathan

. 1996. ‘China’s Cautious New Pragmatism in the Middle East’, Survival, Vol. 38, No. 3, 102–16.

45.

Shai

Aron

. 2009. ‘Sino-Israeli Relations: Current Reality and Future Prospects’, The Institute for National Security Studies, No. 100, 1–59.

46.

Shichor

Yitzhak

. 1998. ‘Israel’s Military Transfers to China and Taiwan’, Survival, Vol. 40, No. 1, 68–91.

47.

Shichor

Yitzhak

. 1999. ‘China’s Economic Relations with the Middle East: New Dimensions’, in Kumaraswamy

P. R.

(ed.), China and the Middle East: the Quest for Influence. New Delhi: SAGE Publications, 179–99.

48.

Shichor

Yitzhak

. 2006. ‘China’s Upsurge: Implications for the Middle East’, Israel Affairs, Vol. 12, No. 4, 665–83.

49.

Shichor

Yitzhak

. 2007. ‘Reconciliation: Israel’s Prime Minister in Beijing’, China Brief, Vol. 2, No.7, 10–12.

50.

Smith

Jeffrey

. 2000. ‘Israel’s Arms Deal with China Puts Relations with US to Test’, Washington Post, 11 April.

51.

The Globes (Tel Aviv). 2005. ‘China to Declare Israel a Preferred Tourist Destination’, 1 August.

52.

The Independent . 1998 ‘Arafat Assured of Chinese Business Support for Palestine State’, 16 July.

53.

United Nations. 2003. ‘Transcript of Press Conference by Secretary-General Kofi Annan at United Nations Headquarters’, 14 January.

54.

US Census Bureau. 2011. ‘Trade in Goods. Foreign Trade Statistics’, http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html#2011 (accessed on 13 March 2012).

55.

Waltz

Kenneth N.

2000. ‘Structural Realism after the Cold War’, International Security, Vol. 25, No.1, 5–41.

56.

Weizman

Jonathan

. 2010. ‘US Pushes Iran Sanctions, But China Holds Back’, The Wall Street Journal, 12 April.

57.

Wudunn

Sheryl

. 1992. ‘Israel-China Relations Nearly Official’, New York Times, January 23.

58.

Xinhua . 1995. ‘China Welcomes Agreement between Palestine, Israel’, 27 September.

59.

Xinhua . 1996a. ‘China Condemns Bombings in Israel’, 4 March.

60.

Xinhua . 1996b. ‘Jiang Zemin Affirms Support for Middle East Peace Process’, 16 May.

61.

Xinhua . 1997. ‘Spokesman Welcomes Palestine-Israel Accord on Hebron’, 16 January.

62.

Xinhua . 1998. ‘China Appreciates US role in Mideast Pact,’ 26 October.

63.

Xinhua . 2000. ‘China Urges Ultimate Restraints from Parties Concerned in Middle East’, 4 October.

64.

Xinhua . 2002a. ‘Chinese FM Spokeswoman on Palestine-Israel Tension’, 9 April.

65.

Xinhua . 2002b. ‘Chinese Representative Urges Israel, Palestinians’, 17 April.

66.

Xinhua . 2002c. ‘China’s UN Envoy says Beijing Supports all Efforts to Urge Israeli Withdrawal’, 20 April.

67.

Xinhua . 2002d. ‘China Calls for Mideast Peace based on Land-for-Peace Principle’, 7 November.

68.

Xinhua . 2002e. ‘China Urges Israel to Refrain from Abusing Force against Palestinians’, 15 November.

69.

Xinhua . 2003. ‘Chinese Mideast Envoy says “Geneva Initiative” useful attempt’, 2 December.

70.

Xinhua . 2004. ‘Jiang: China Supports Palestinian, Arab Cause’, 29 April.

71.

Xinhua . 2006a. ‘China Welcomes Completion of Palestinian Election’, 27 January.

72.

Xinhua . 2006b. ‘China Attaches no Political Conditions on Aid to Palestinians’, 16 March.

73.

Xinhua . 2006c. ‘China Welcomes Formation of New Palestinian Unity Government’, 16 March.

74.

Xinhua . 2006d. ‘Foreign Minister Tells Beijing Forum Palestinians to Study Arab Initiative’, 31 May.

75.

Xinhua . 2006e. ‘Premier Wen Jiabao says China Decides to Boost Peacekeepers in Lebanon’, 18 September.

76.

Xinhua . 2007a. ‘Middle East, North Africa Markets said Attracting China Suppliers’, 11 June.

77.

Xinhua . 2007b. ‘China Foreign Minister Meets Palestinian, Israeli Leaders in Annapolis’, 28 November.

78.

Xinhua . 2007c. ‘China Supports Palestinian Development Plan, Says Special’, 18 December.

79.

Xinhua . 2009a. ‘China Urges Security Council to Push for Immediate Gaza Ceasefire’, 7 January.

80.

Xinhua . 2009b. ‘China’s UN Envoy Urges Implementation of UN Resolution on Gaza’, 9 January.

81.

Zoellick

Robert B.

2005. ‘Whither China: From Membership to Responsibility?’ Deputy Secretary of State, Remarks to National Committee on US-China Relations, 21 September, New York City, http://www.ncuscr.org/articlesandspeeches/Zoellick.htm (accessed on 13 March 2012).

82.

Zweig

David

Jianhai

. 2005. ‘China’s Global Hunt for Energy’, Foreign Affairs, Vol. 84, No. 5, 24–38.