Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, held a meeting of the "China-Arab Cooperation Forum" in Beijing on May 30. At the meeting, Xi Jinping will hold talks with the leaders of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Tunisia to discuss investment in these countries, the continued development of bilateral trade, and the resolution of the Israel-Hamas crisis.
According to an article published on May 28 on Bloomberg News, the meeting will focus on the war crisis in Gaza and the Palestinian issue. In the Israel-Hamas war, because of the Biden administration's support for Israel, China has faced the Arab countries and expressed its support for an immediate ceasefire and the recognition of a Palestinian state. This alignment will help China further expand its influence in the Middle East and win new allies.
The second priority of the China-Arab Cooperation Conference is still the economy. According to Bloomberg News, ahead of the opening of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum, China's Vice Foreign Minister Deng Li said that trade with the Middle East has increased tenfold in the past 20 years. mentions the increase.
American political analyst Gordon Chang said about the purpose of the meeting: "China is trying to become the master of the world, so it considers the Middle East as part of it. China is currently eyeing the Southern Hemisphere, hoping to dump goods from Chinese factories to the world and make up for its losses from the United States and Europe, which do not import Chinese goods. Xi Jinping failed to solve the real estate crisis, and failed to increase the consumption power of Chinese citizens. In this case, it needs to export goods to the Arab world.
According to an article published in Bloomberg News, from the point of view of Arab countries, they hope to benefit equally from the United States and China, just like emerging countries in East Asia and Latin America, but not to enter into a "Cold War" between the two countries.
Mr. Free Ekram, an associate professor of Turkey's Hajetepe University, said that the Sino-Arab Cooperation Conference is based on the interests of both sides, and the Arab countries want to take advantage of the conflict between the United States and China.
According to an article published in "Bloomberg News", Saudi Arabia accounts for 40 percent of the trade between China and Arab countries among the countries that have established close cooperation with China. Crude oil is important to China, and it imports more than a third of its crude oil from Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia.
In general trade, the United Arab Emirates has become a bigger partner for China and has played an important role in the construction of the "One Belt One Road"; By the end of 2022, China has earned about $12 billion in direct investment.
Egypt is a country that is increasing investment from China, and China's 1st Automobile Industry Group will set up an electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Egypt. A Swiss investment bank estimates that China's increased ties to the Middle East will increase global energy trade by $400 billion by 2030.
As China grows its business and economic power in the Middle East, it is also expanding its political influence. If it reconciles Saudi Arabia and Iran, two of the biggest rivals in the Islamic world in 2022; In April 2024, the old Palestinian rivals Hamas and Fatah invited their giants to China for talks.
According to Reuters on May 30, Xi Jinping mentioned the war in Gaza in his speech at the "China-Arab Cooperation Forum" and said, "China is willing to cooperate with Arab countries. "This cooperation will help build peace, justice and long-term stability in the Middle East and resolve conflicts."
Mr. Gordon Chang said that China is actually an evil power threatening world peace and says: "Xi Jinping needs peace, but he is destabilizing the world by making others go to war. In particular, he supported the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Now he is a peacemaker in his own right. China's friends believe that only China can restore the international order, because it was China that broke it in the first place. However, China cannot restore peace, and Israel recognizes that China supports Israel's main enemy, Iran. In this case, China will also become Israel's enemy.
The article shows that despite China's growing economic and diplomatic influence in the Arab world, the United States still plays a major role in protecting the security of the Gulf Arab states. The United States is making a new defense agreement with Saudi Arabia, and by recognizing the existence of Israel, it wants to make effective use of the role of countries like Saudi Arabia in maintaining peace in the Middle East.
Mr. Free Ekram said that the Arab world will continue to depend on Western countries in terms of national defense and economy.
United Arab Emirates-based AI technology company G42 recently abandoned China and agreed to develop US technology, signing a $1.5 billion deal with Microsoft. Saudi Arabia also set aside 100 billion dollars to develop artificial intelligence technology and wanted to cooperate with American technology companies.
Mr. Free Ekram said that the Arab countries that turn a blind eye to the oppression faced by the Uyghurs may change their position on the Uyghur issue in the future as soon as China weakens.
Mr. Gordon Chang accused the Arab countries of supporting China, which is committing genocide against the Uyghurs, and said: "China has clearly chosen which side to stand on this time, so it will never be a protector of peace. It is a shame that the Arab countries have turned their backs on the Uighurs, Kazakhs and other Turkic peoples. "They continue to support China, which is committing genocide against Muslims, and history will never forget their shameful choice."
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