Alwaght- Since China’s success in mediating the Iranian-Saudi détente agreement in March and its efforts to put an end to the ongoing Ukraine war, Beijing’s name has been presenting itself as a potential reliable mediator in a number of regional and international disputes, and meanwhile West Asia is at the center of focus of Chinese leaders these days.
China, which over the past decade had kept itself away from the West Asian disputes and adopted a policy of neutrality to the regional developments, now has gained considerable political weight in this region and can change equations in this strategic region.
The most important and longest crisis that West Asia has faced in the past 70 years and which has inflamed many wars is the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israeli regime, and international efforts to end it have so far been unsuccessful.
Now that a new round of clashes has erupted between the Israelis and Palestinians, the Chinese have shown in the past few days that they are stepping in this important case as part of their policy of engagement in West Asia developments. China is even the first world power to have released a moderate, neutral, and logic statement on Gaza war and without condemning Hamas, unlike the Western powers.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday that the resurgence of the conflict between Palestine and Israel once again proved that the long-term deadlock in the peace process cannot continue and that the solution to the conflict lies in the implementation of the two-state solution. Yi also told his Saudi counterpart, Faisal bin Farhan, that Israel’s actions in Gaza after the Hamas operation have gone “beyond self-defense”, and Tel Aviv leaders should stop the collective punishment of Gaza people, adding that the warring parties should not take actions that lead to the escalation of the situation and instead start negotiations. Beijing called on the international community to send humanitarian aid to Gazans to prevent a humanitarian disaster caused by the severe Israeli blockade.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that next week China’s special envoy to West Asia Zhai Jun will visit the region as part of efforts to coordinate a ceasefire, protect the civilians, and revive peace talks.
China intends to arrange an international conference to resume peace talks, hoping that its mediation would be accepted as a result of its balance position.
Recent visit to China of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas drew massive support to the Palestinian cause. It is certain that Palestine establishes relations with Beijing to encourage its entry into the international orbit of countries backing formation of an independent Palestinian state. If the situation worsens and the Israeli government pushes a resolution at the UN condemning the Palestinians, China as a Security Council member will certainly veto it, as if it is the case with the Palestinians, the US will veto it in support of the Israelis.
The stabilizing Chinese role in West Asia
Preparing itself to unseat the US as a world power, China is specially counting on cooperation with West Asia both for its central position in providing world energy and for its geopolitical position in the international trade network. That is why over the past year, it strengthened its relations with the Arab countries and Iran to add to its allies on the world stage.
The mediation between Iran and Saudi Arabia and working for Arab-Iranian convergence in the region showed well China’s stabilizing intentions in West Asia. Regional countries have also realized that China’s balanced policy is positive and beneficial for everyone, because it seeks to build stability and reduce tensions and resolve the endless geopolitical and sectarian wars in the region.
Since Beijing is increasingly investing in the region, it is seeking to deepen its influence in it both for economic and geostrategic drivers. At present, Palestine as the biggest obsession of the Muslim world makes an important test for Chinese policy performance in the region.
China knows that for a strong presence in the Arab countries, it must have a clear and specific position towards the Palestinian conflict, and that is why in the past months, especially after the start of Hamas’s Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, it has stepped up its diplomatic activities in order to play a central role in this conflict.
Although the Chinese did not get involved in the Palestinian conflict before and had an almost neutral position, with the global changes that have occurred in the last two years, they were encouraged to play a greater role in the longest international conflict. China is trying to develop good relations with both sides of the conflict and by easing the tensions in the occupied territories, it helps the process of peace and stability in the region. It has tried to take a balanced position in the recent conflict.
China has been backing the Palestinian cause for a long time and was one of the first countries to recognize the Palestinian state and it regularly supports the Palestinians in the UN voting and advocates the establishment of an independent Palestinian state as a legitimate right of the Palestinians.
Challenging the destabilizing American role in the region
By boosting their ties with regional states, Chinese leaders are working to expand their influence in West Asia, and activation of their role in such important cases including Palestine can grant them a greater power of maneuvering.
Since the establishment of the Israeli regime in 1948, which made the ground for the conflict with the Palestinians, the US has acted as the only international mediator in this conflict, but since the Americans always look at the Palestinian case unilaterally and in favor of the Israelis, this mediation has not been successful up to now. Actually, their mediation not only has not led to a tangible outcome, but also intensified the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis. So, if China can, for the first time since 2014, bring the two sides to the negotiating table, it can seriously undermine the American credibility and position.
The Chinese have proven that, unlike Washington, they do not seek war in West Asia and are trying to establish stability in the region and ensure the security of countries by reducing tensions in Palestine. Since the US has raised the level of tensions with China in all areas in order to contain its emerging rival, Beijing is also trying with all its might to enter the region that is Washington’s sphere of influence and challenge its decades-long hegemony. China has made many successes in this path, and bolstering economic and security relations with the Arab monarchies of the Persian Gulf and taking them out of the Western orbit is an important part of this puzzle which is currently going in favor of the Eastern power.
The rejuvenated Israeli-Palestinian war has wreaked the American efforts to bring the Arab countries close to Israel, as this can play into the hands of Beijing. Also, the new round of clashes has exposed the gaps between the West and the Arab countries as the Western camp is standing with Israel with all its power and supports killing innocent Palestinians while the Arab countries are sympathizing with Palestine.
Therefore, by mediating between the Israeli regime and the Palestinian resistance groups, China is trying to end several decades of conflict and promote its stabilizing role on the international stage with the two-state solution.
The experience of the past 75 years shows the misestimating of strategy of Washington in imposing peace on the Palestinians without a just solution for them. Therefore, considering these facts, there is a need for China to review the proposed peace initiatives offered to resolve the conflict in the region. China has presented several initiatives to peacefully resolve the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israelis, all of which revolve around the necessity of establishing an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders.
Beijing wants to be seen as a global peace advocate capable of settling international cases that look unsolvable under the security order foisted on the world by the US. Seeking to enhance his reputation as a successful global statesman, Chinese President Xi Jinping has created the impression that China is a key global player in establishing peace and stability.
China’s economic goals
China has always been looking for protecting and expanding its economic interests in West Asia without interference in its policies. Over its history of relations with the regional countries, China has based its economic strategy on partnership and development, and its engagement in the Palestinian case is no exception. The history of China’s economic and development role in the region is one of the factors that enabled this country to get involved in West Asian policies, hence, it has been welcomed by many countries in the region.
The Road and Belt Initiative (RBI) that was unveiled by Beijing in 2013 is being pursued with seriousness by the Chinese leaders and West Asian countries, including Palestine, are part of it. To realize this major plan, China needs stability in the countries covered by this project, and because the occupied territories are part of it, the Chinese are trying to make peace between the Palestinian and Israelis to conclude their project.
Recently, the US in association with its partners including India and the Israeli regime unveiled India-Middle East-Europe corridor that is parallel to the ambitions RBI. By establishing this corridor, the Americans try to control trade from India to Europe to cut off the potential profits of their rival. In reaction, China is helping the Arab states and neutrally mediating in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute to checkmate the American project. China is hopeful that by intervention in the current conflict, it can protect its economic interests and secure energy flow from the Persian Gulf to its industries.
The warmongering of the radical government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Gaza and the West Bank is a security game in the American puzzle that the Chinese do not withstand. Therefore, Beijing officials are scrambling their diplomatic efforts to prevent this conflict from spreading to the entire region and spoiling all the stabilization efforts of China and its allies.
Chinese closeness to Syria and signing with it a strategic partnership pact in recent weeks bears witness to the Chinese policy that seeks to repair all the damages Washington and its allies inflicted on the region. Meanwhile, reconstruction of Syria and its infrastructure can promote quick conclusion of the RBI, also called New Silk Road.
While China intends to close the Israeli-Palestinian case with mediation and improve its political weight internationally, the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the balanced position taken by China that by the way drew Tel Aviv reactions has shown that the Israelis at least on the long run will not yield to any international pro-peace initiative.
From another aspect, since Israeli regime is an inseparable part of the American strategy in the region, Washington is expected to use its political weight to hamper success of Chinese initiative in West Asia as the hardliners in Tel Aviv at present are not interested to see a player other than the US engaging in the Palestine case despite their differences with the White House leaders.
