Meanwhile, China’s deepening engagement with countries on both sides of fierce rivalries could drag it into disputes unrelated to its core objectives. China may not want to strengthen its political and security presence in the region – but it may feel that it has no choice in the matter. This will be especially true if the US speeds up its apparent withdrawal from the Middle East, a trend that is likely to force China to protect these interests itself. However, Beijing will likely struggle to maintain its neutral narrative as Chinese interests in the volatile region grow. As Degang Sun explains, China has a vision of a multipolar order in the Middle East based on non-interference in, and partnerships with, other states – one in which the country will promote stability through “developmental peace” rather than the Western notion of “democratic peace”.
Beijing is careful to avoid replicating what it sees as Western intervention and puts forward a narrative of neutral engagement with all countries – including those that are at odds with each other – on the basis of mutually beneficial agreements. They barely mention security cooperation – in line with Beijing’s narrative that its involvement in the region does not advance its geopolitical goals. The cooperation framework outlined in these documents focuses on energy, infrastructure construction, trade, and investment in the Middle East. For the moment, China’s relationship with the region focuses on Gulf states, due to their predominant role in energy markets.Īs Jonathan Fulton argues, the centrality of economic cooperation and development to China’s engagement with Middle Eastern countries is reflected in two key Chinese government documents, the 2016 “Arab Policy Paper” and the 2015 “Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road”. As a strategically important crossroads for trade routes and sea lanes linking Asia to Europe and Africa, the Middle East is important to the future of the BRI – which is designed to place China at the centre of global trade networks. In 2015 China officially became the biggest global importer of crude oil, with almost half of its supply coming from the Middle East.
Armed forces middle east countries series#
This series of essays addresses how they can do so by bringing together Chinese, Middle Eastern, and Western perspectives on China’s evolving role in the region.Ĭhina’s relationship with the Middle East revolves around energy demand and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), launched in 2013. Given that China’s rise has led to intensifying geopolitical competition in Europe’s neighbourhood, European policymakers should begin to factor the country into their thinking about the Middle East. However, many policymakers have little knowledge of China’s position and objectives in the Middle East, or of the ways in which these factors could affect regional stability and political dynamics in the medium to long term. At a moment when the United States’ long-standing dominance over the region shows signs of decline, European policymakers are increasingly debating the future of the Middle Eastern security architecture – and China’s potential role within that structure. While it is still a relative newcomer to the region and is extremely cautious in its approach to local political and security challenges, the country has been forced to increase its engagement with the Middle East due to its growing economic presence there. Introduction China’s evolving role in the Middle EastĬhina has become an increasingly significant player in the Middle East in the past decade.
Europeans should increase their engagement with China in the Middle East, aiming to refocus its economic role on constructive initiatives.Europeans should monitor China’s growing influence on regional stability and political dynamics, especially in relation to sensitive issues such as surveillance technology and arms sales.Yet the country’s growing economic presence is likely to pull it into wider engagement with the region in ways that could significantly affect European interests.China still has a limited appetite for challenging the US-led security architecture in the Middle East or playing a significant role in regional politics.China has significantly increased its economic, political, and – to a lesser extent – security footprint in the Middle East in the past decade, becoming the biggest trade partner and external investor for many countries in the region.
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