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Title: Harmony Amidst Disarray: China's Delicate Balancing Act in the Middle East
Description: This document delves into China's intricate role in Middle East security affairs, navigating through challenges, demands from various parties like Saudi Arabia and Iran, and its efforts to balance U.S. influences. It explores China's involvement in economic relations, diplomatic endeavors concerning issues like the Iran nuclear deal, and its strategic positioning in an unstable Middle East region marked by geopolitical rivalries and internal conflicts.
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© 2020 FEPS-IAI
ISSN 2610-9603 | ISBN 978-88-9368-143-8
IAI PAPERS 20 | 23 - AUGUST 2020
y 4 te Istituto Affari
ye Internazionali
China and Middle East Security Issues:
Challenges, Perceptions and...
fact:
FEPS (Foundation for European Progressive Studies) is the think tank of the social democratic political family at EU level.
FEPS
works in close partnership with its members and partners, forging connections
and boosting coherence among stakeholders from the world of politics, academia
and civil society at local, regional, ...
As the world’s second largest economy, China mainly regards the Middle East as
a source of energy supplies, a market for Chinese products and investments and
an important arena for infrastructure conn...
fact:
Jin Liangxiang is Associate Research Fellow at the Center for West Asian and African Studies and Senior Research Fellow with the Institute for International Strategic Studies, Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS).
Copyright © 2020 Foundation for European Progressive Studies
(FEPS) and Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI). © 2020 FEPS-IAI
ISSN 2610-9603 | ISBN 978-88-9368-143-8
IAI PAPERS 20 | 23 - AUGUST 2020...
1.1 Tensions caused by external actors
The first category of instability drivers should be framed as tensions caused by
the policies of external actors in the region, first and foremost the United St...
Overall,
such measures will produce long-term obstacles to stabilisation, also hampering
the minimal normalisation process underway between Israel and certain Arab
states, particularly in the Gulf. Tr...
context:
The document explores the impact of US-Iran tensions and regional developments on China's concerns and positions.
© 2020 FEPS-IAI
ISSN 2610-9603 | ISBN 978-88-9368-143-8
IAI PAPERS 20 | 23 - AUGUST 2020
China and Middle East Security Issues: Challenges, Perceptions and Positions
1.2 Instability due to economi...
If young people are not employed, lacking opportunities
for individual and collective improvement, they will either go to the streets
demanding bread and jobs or be attracted to extremist, even violen...
The rise of ISIS can be attributed to a large variety of drivers, including the domestic
turmoil caused by the Arab Spring. Yet, again, the economy and socio-economic
opportunities also played a role....
context:
The rise of ISIS and its drivers, including the impact of Arab Spring on domestic turmoil and economy, are discussed.
fact:
The Middle East has experienced serious domestic violence episodes, conflicts in Libya, Yemen, and Syria, and renewed waves of popular demonstrations in Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, and Algeria during 2019-2020.
This rivalry has deepened as Turkey was able to establish a foothold in Qatar
5 Lisa Barrington, “Arab Spring Has Cost Region 6 Percent of GDP: U.N. Agency”, in Reuters, 10
November 2016, http://reut...
Meanwhile, adding a further dimension of instability and
uncertainty to the regional environment, Israel, which backs Saudi Arabia and
the Emirates? in their competition with Iran, has considerably ex...
All of this will thereby continue to
undermine the security environment in the region, leading to some challenges
and reticence on the side of China to expand its engagement or more direct
involvement...
Challenges to China
Instability in the Middle East represents a serious challenge for all states due to
the region's global importance for energy geopolitics and geostrategic location
between East an...
fact:
Iran's shooting down of a US drone in the Strait of Hormuz and other incidents escalated US-Iran tensions between 2019 and early 2020.
fact:
The targeted killing of Qasem Soleimani in early January 2020 intensified international concerns and regional conflict risks.
fact:
The unrest following the Arab Spring protests, combined with declining oil prices in 2014, resulted in an estimated 614 billion US dollars loss in economic growth in the MENA region between 2011 and 2015, equivalent to roughly 6% of the region's GDP.
In 2011, China's crude oil imports from Iran stood at about 600,000 barrels per
day, but the number had dropped to 400,000 by mid-2013, as international
sanctions were imposed on Iran in the context o...
Once the US refused to extend these waivers in
May 2019, Chinese imports declined significantly, although no official number is
available for more recent exchanges.”
US unilateral sanctions on Iran's...
fact:
US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 and subsequent actions, including the unilateral imposition of sanctions on Iran, have heightened regional tensions, impacting China's efforts to diversify supplies and energy security.
fact:
Geopolitical competition among regional powers has contributed to instability in the Middle East, with the US's reduced presence creating a power vacuum filled by various regional and extra-regional actors.
Turning to the second central challenge, calls for China to play a greater role in
the Middle East in the more sensitive political and security domains have indeed
increased in recent years. As a matt...
15 Mohsen Shariatinia and Hamidreza Azizi, “Iran and the Belt and Road Initiative: Amid Hope and
Fear”, in Journal of Contemporary China, Vol. 28, No. 120 (2019), p. 984-994. 16 Jin Liangxiang, “China...
Calls by Palestinians, and those Arab
countries sympathising with the Palestinian cause, for China to play a balancing
role against the United States is one example. This request might be reasonable, ...
context:
The text discusses China's role in balancing US influences in the Middle East, examining Palestinian calls for China's involvement and the challenges faced in navigating conflicting requests from parties like Saudi Arabia and Iran.
fact:
China supports the two-state framework and UN parameters on the Palestine-Israel conflict, but lacks the political and strategic resources to significantly alter the US-led course on the issue.
fact:
China faces requests from both Saudi Arabia and Iran to import more oil, causing a dilemma as increased imports from one could strain relations with the other. Iran hopes for greater Chinese support on the nuclear issue, in contrast to Saudi Arabia's dissatisfaction with China's stance.
The US has asked China to play amplified roles in the region, but such calls have
proven to be little more than a tactical ploy to then place increased blame on China. On the one hand, the US has long...
18 Paul Haenle, "China Misses a Golden Opportunity in Syria", in Carnegie Articles, 8 October 2013,
https://carnegieendowment.org/publications/53241; and Brian Spegele and Matt Bradley, “Middle
East O...
China's contribution should be understood in comprehensive
terms as security issues should be assessed through a wide prism, covering a
variety of sectors, each of which has a bearing on security and ...
The Chinese company Huawei stayed in Libya,
Yemen and Iraq to maintain communication facilities even when other companies
20 Ma Xia and Song Caicen, “China-Egypt Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Z...
Through these economic relations, China secures its business interests, but it is
also China's belief that such relations will improve the foundations for economy
and welfare in the region, helping pr...
context:
China views the Middle East as a crucial region for energy supplies, economic markets, infrastructure projects, and stability. The country advocates for a regional security framework led by local players with external actors in supportive roles. China emphasizes non-interference in regional disputes, provides security resources through UN mandates, and maintains economic relations with countries like Libya, Yemen, and Iraq. The text further elaborates on China's economic interests, involvement in various sectors, challenges faced due to instability in the region, and mounting requests for an increased regional role, as well as China's role in promoting peace and security through economic relations and political solutions in major Middle East disputes.
It was China that ultimately proposed a bridging solution on Arak — which
the US wanted totally dismantled and the Iranians wanted to keep in place -,
modifying the functionality of the reactor to min...
context:
The document discusses China and Middle East security issues, focusing on challenges, perceptions, positions, current challenges faced by China as one of the major economic partners in the region, and Chinese economic relations with countries like Libya, Yemen, and Iraq, as well as China's role in balancing US influences in the Middle East, examining Palestinian calls for China's involvement and the challenges faced in navigating conflicting requests from parties like Saudi Arabia and Iran. It also includes China's involvement in diplomatic efforts on specific issues like the Arak reactor modification proposal and China's role in preventing further escalation in international conflicts such as the Iran nuclear deal and Syrian crisis.
China also plays a role in providing security resources to the region. Beijing began
to provide peace-keeping troops to UN missions forty years ago, and has now
become the largest contributor among th...
The
drills included training and cooperation on search and rescue operations and anti-
piracy operations as well as purely military exercises and live fire coordination.’
Therefore, itis not right to...
Unfortunately, most of
the missions in the region conducted by the US are not authorised by the UN. 4. Framework proposals for Gulf security: A Chinese view
Recent years have witnessed increased deba...
Gulf Maritime Proposal Not Military Coalition against Iran-Pentagon
Official”, in Reuters, 18 July 2019, https://reut.rs/2Sp9xkV. 29 Sabahat Khan, “Europe to Operate Gulf Maritime Security Mission out...
Common security means ensuring the
security of all countries, rather than building the security of one country on the
turbulence of others, or seeking the absolute security of one side. Comprehensive
...
33 China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi Expounds on the Chinese Solutions to the Middle East
Security, 27 November 2019, https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1724790.shtml. 34 Thid. 3...
If there is anything to be learnt from
developments over recent years, is that no security proposal can be considered
sustainable without also accounting for Iran's legitimate rights and interests. It...
37 For America’s declining role in the region, see Steven Simon and Jonathan Stevenson, “The End
of Pax Americana: Why Washington's Middle East Pullback Makes Sense”, in Foreign Affairs, Vol. 94,
No. ...
Russia
might be willing to increase involvement, but its domestic economy is not sufficient
to support this level of ambition. The EU sees the Middle East as its neighbourhood,
but does not have suffi...
context:
The chunk introduces Russia, the EU, and regional powers like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Israel as major players in the Middle East. The competition for geopolitical influence among these powers is noted to be a key driver of regional tensions. The chunk emphasizes that regional powers will require assistance from major external powers to maintain their standing in the region, indicating a shared influence on the future regional security order.
fact:
China is expected to continue its gradual and cautious pace of engagement in the Middle East, prioritizing its interests in the region.
fact:
The future regional security order is predicted to have regional players at its core, with the continued participation and influence of external actors. China aims to mediate among regional actors, promote economic development, and provide security resources within the UN framework to enhance security and stability across the MENA region.
fact:
External actors are encouraged to mediate among regional players and promote dialogue, supporting UN frameworks without exacerbating fragmentation or rivalry among the regional actors.
context:
China expects countries in the region to determine their policies, including on security matters, through dialogue, while external actors are urged to encourage and facilitate such dialogues among regional players without aggravating divisions or favoring one party over another.
As a major external actor with growing interests and influence over the region and
regional players, China will continue working to bring parties together politically,
promote economic development and...
context:
China will work towards bringing regional parties together politically, fostering economic development, and providing security resources within the UN framework to enhance security and stability across the MENA region and beyond, aligning with Beijing's strategic interests in the area. These broad principles are understood in Beijing as holding the best potential to provide increased security and stability across the MENA region and thereby also help advance Chinese economic interests in the region and further afield.
org/?p=274201
Thomas Friedman, “Exclusive Interview: Obama on the World", in The New York
Times, 8 August 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000003048414/
obama-on-the-world.html © 2020 FE...
39-55, https://doi.org/10.1142/S2377740017500014
Jin Liangxiang, “Why Has the Middle East Become the Sources of International
Terrorism” [in Chinese], in Arab World Studies, Vol. 9, No. 5 (September ...
Robert Pearson et al., “Turkey's Emerging Role in the Middle East”, in Middle
East Policy, Vol. 25, No. 2 (Summer 2018), p. 5-26, https://mepc.org/node/5033 © 2020 FEPS-IAI
ISSN 2610-9603 | ISBN 978-...
984-994
Steven Simon and Jonathan Stevenson, “The End of Pax Americana: Why
Washington's Middle East Pullback Makes Sense", in Foreign Affairs, Vol. 94, No. 6
(November/December 2015), p. 2-10
Ribal...
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international politics and to contribute to the advancement of European integration and
multilateral cooperation. Its focus embraces topics of strategic relevance suc...
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