Xi's Middle East visit coincides with China's Arab policy paper
- By Sumantra Maitra
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E-mail China.org.cn, January 18, 2016
The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that President Xi Jinping will pay state visits to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran from Jan. 19 to Jan. 23. This visit comes at a crucial time. The Chinese president has not visited Saudi Arabia since 2009 or Iran since 2002. This comes at a time when sectarian tensions have reached a peak in the Middle East, with the flames of war spanning from Syria to Yemen. Iran and Saudi Arabia have engaged in the most vicious proxy wars since the 1960s and destabilized an entire region, with tensions reaching a fever pitch since the killing of Nimr al Nimr and the embassy closures. It is in this volatile time that the Chinese president's visit to the region can be described as a Chinese assertion into the region as an honest power broker.
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Visitors experience Xiaomi products during its launching ceremony in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates on Jan. 13, 2016. The world's fourth largest producer of cell phones, China's Xiaomi, launched Wednesday a wide range of its products, in partnership with Dubai-based Task FZCO firm. Xiaomi plans to acquire a sizable market share in the rapidly expanding smartphone market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). [Xinhua/Tian Wei] |
Middle Eastern great power politics have officially been dictated by Europe, the U.S. and Russia, although China has lately been involved more efficiently. China hosted both the Syrian opposition and the government, and has planned military bases and security cooperation with the Middle East, North Africa and Djibouti. China also oversaw massive evacuations from North Africa and has sent her warships to patrol in dangerous waters with anti-piracy missions off the Somalian coast. With the Chinese demand for oil increasing, and Chinese interests spread all over the Middle East, it was only a matter of time before China would begin to look for stronger security and cooperation in the region.
That's exactly what was pointed out in the first ever Arab policy paper published by China. It highlights Chinese-Arab history in broad strokes. From the maritime silk roads over two thousand years back to modern times, China-Arab relations were underscored in this paper.
The paper states, as it marks the China Arab states cooperation forum, that "China and Arab countries have followed the world trend of peace, development and cooperation, respected each other, treated each other as equals, and committed themselves to deepening traditional friendship and bilateral relations. Cooperation in the political, economic, scientific, technological, cultural, educational, military, health, sports, news and other fields has achieved fruitful results and enabled the establishment of a friendly and cooperative relationship oriented toward the 21st century."
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