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<b>For years, China has</b><b><a
href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/china-supports-palestine-with-e-jerusalem-its-capital/1004868"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"> maintained</a></b><b> a
consistent (sic) position in support of the Palestinian people,
calling for an end to the Israeli Occupation and the establishment
of an independent Palestinian state. However, Beijing’s firm
position regarding the rights of Palestinians, seems of little
consequence to its relationship with Israel, as joint
technological ventures, trade, and investments continue to grow
unhindered.<br>
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<div class="header reader-header reader-show-element"> <font
size="-2"><a class="domain reader-domain"
href="http://www.palestinechronicle.com/it-is-a-new-era-but-chinas-balancing-act-will-fail-in-the-middle-east/">http://www.palestinechronicle.com/it-is-a-new-era-but-chinas-balancing-act-will-fail-in-the-middle-east/</a></font>
<h1 class="reader-title">It Is a New Era, but China’s Balancing
Act Will Fail in the Middle East</h1>
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<div class="reader-estimated-time">October 31, 2018<br>
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<p><strong>By <a
href="http://www.palestinechronicle.com/writers/ramzy-baroud"
title="Display all articles for Ramzy Baroud">Ramzy
Baroud</a></strong></p>
<p>Although ties between Washington and Tel Aviv are
stronger than ever, Israeli leaders are aware of a
vastly changing political landscape. The US’ political
turmoil and the global power realignment – which is on
full display in the Middle East – indicate that a new
era is, indeed, in the making.</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, this new era involves China.</p>
<p>China’s Vice President, Wang Qishan, arrived in<a
href="https://www.aljazeera.com/topics/country/Israel.html"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Israel</a> on October
22 on a four-day visit to head the fourth China-Israel
Innovation Committee. He is the highest-ranking Chinese
official to visit Israel in nearly two decades.</p>
<p>In April 2000, the former president of<a
href="https://www.aljazeera.com/topics/country/China.html"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"> China</a>, Jiang
Zemin, was the first Chinese leader ever to visit
Israel, touring the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum and
paying diplomatic dues to his Israeli counterparts. At
the time, he spoke of China’s intentions to cement the
bond between the two countries.</p>
<p>Wang Qishan’s visit, however, is different. The “bond”
between Beijing and Tel Aviv is much stronger now than
it was then, as expressed in sheer numbers. Soon after
the two countries exchanged diplomatic missions in 1992,
trade figures soared. The size of Chinese investments in
Israel also grew exponentially, from<a
href="https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/China-Israel-relations-are-bound-to-blossomHE-GAO-YANPING-347495"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"> $50m</a> in the early
1990s to a whopping $16.5bn according to 2016 estimates.</p>
<p>China’s growing investments and strategic ties to
Israel are predicated on both countries’ keen interest
in technological innovation, as well as on the so-called
“Red-Med” Railway, a regional network of sea and rail
infrastructure<a
href="https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/385-chaziza-the-red-med-railway-new-opportunities-for-china-israel-and-the-middle-east/"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"> aimed</a> at
connecting China with Europe via Asia and the Middle
East. Additionally, the railway would also link the two
Israeli ports of Eilat and Ashdod.</p>
<p>News of China’s plan to manage the Israeli port of
Haifa has already raised the ire of the US and its
European allies.</p>
<p>Times have changed, indeed. Whereas in the past,
Washington<a
href="https://www.mepc.org/journal/israel-china-relations-and-phalcon-controvers"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"> ordered</a> Tel Aviv
to immediately cease exchanging American military
technology with China, forcing it to cancel the sale of
the Phalcon airborne early-warning system, it is now
watching as Israeli and Chinese leaders are managing the
dawn of a new political era that – for the first time –
does not include Washington.</p>
<p>For China, the newfound love for Israel is part of a
broader global strategy that can be considered the jewel
of China’s revitalized foreign policy.</p>
<p>Qishan’s visit to Israel comes on the heels of
accelerated efforts by Beijing to promote its mammoth
trillion-dollar economic project,<a
href="https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/countingthecost/2017/05/china-mission-reinvent-silk-road-170513082301640.html"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"> the Belt and Road
Initiative</a> (BRI).</p>
<p>China hopes that its grand plan will help it open
massive new opportunities across the world and
eventually guarantee its dominance in various regions
that rotated, since World War II, within an American
sphere of influence. BRI aims to connect Asia, Africa,
and Europe through a “belt” of overland routes and a
maritime “road” of sea lanes.</p>
<p>The China-US competition is heating up. Washington
wants to hold on to its global dominance for as long as
possible while Beijing is eagerly working to supplant
the US’ superpower status, first in Asia, then in Africa
and the Middle East. The Chinese strategy in achieving
its objectives is quite clear: unlike the US’
disproportionate investments in military power, China is
keen on winning its coveted status, at least for the
time being, using soft power only.</p>
<p>The Middle East, however, is richer and, thus, more
strategic and contested than any other region in the
world. Rife with conflicts and distinct political camps,
it is likely to derail China’s soft power strategy
sooner rather than later. While Chinese foreign policy
managed to survive the polarising war in Syria through
engaging all sides and playing second to Russia’s
leading role at the UN Security Council, the Israeli
Occupation of Palestine is a whole different political
challenge.</p>
<p>For years, China has<a
href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/china-supports-palestine-with-e-jerusalem-its-capital/1004868"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"> maintained</a> a
consistent position in support of the Palestinian
people, calling for an end to the Israeli Occupation and
the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.
However, Beijing’s firm position regarding the rights of
Palestinians, seems of little consequence to its
relationship with Israel, as joint technological
ventures, trade, and investments continue to grow
unhindered.</p>
<p>China’s foreign policymakers operate with the mistaken
assumption that their country can be pro-Palestine and
pro-Israel at once, criticizing the Occupation, yet
sustaining it; calling on Israel to respect
international law while at the same time empowering
Israel, however unwittingly, in its ongoing violations
of Palestinian human rights.</p>
<p>Israeli hasbara has perfected the art of political
acrobats, and finding the balance between US-western
discourse and a Chinese one should not be too arduous a
task.</p>
<p>Indeed, it seems that the oft-repeated cliché of Israel
being “the only democracy in the Middle East”, is being
slightly adjusted to meet the expectations of a
fledgling superpower, which is merely interested in
technology, trade, and investments. Israeli leaders want
China and its investors to think of Israel as the only
stable economy in the Middle East.</p>
<p>As expected, Palestinian priorities are wholly
different.</p>
<p>With the Palestinian struggle for freedom and human
rights capturing international attention through the
rise of the<a
href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/01/boycott-divestment-sanctions-bds-170110165203991.html"
target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Boycott, Divestment
and Sanctions</a> (BDS) movement, more and more
countries are under pressure to articulate a clear
stance on the Israeli Occupation and apartheid.</p>
<p>For China to enter the fray with an indecisive and
self-serving strategy is not just morally objectionable,
but strategically unsustainable as well. The Palestinian
and Arab peoples are hardly interested in swapping
American military dominance with Chinese economic
hegemony that does little to change or, at least
challenge, the prevailing status quo.</p>
<p>Sadly, while Beijing and Tel Aviv labor to strike the
needed balance between foreign policies and economic
interests, China finds itself under no particular
obligation to side with a clear Arab position on
Palestine, just because the latter does not exist. The
political division of Arab countries, the wars in Syria
and elsewhere have pushed Palestine down from being a
top Arab priority into some strange bargain involving
“regional peace” as part of Trump’s so-called “Deal of
the Century”.</p>
<p>This painful reality has weakened Palestine’s position
in China, which, at least for now, values its
relationship with Israel at a higher level than its
historical bond with Palestine and the Arab people.</p>
<p><i><span>– Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and
editor of Palestine Chronicle. His forthcoming book
is ‘The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story’ (Pluto
Press, London). Baroud has a Ph.D. in Palestine
Studies from the University of Exeter and is a
Non-Resident Scholar at Orfalea Center for Global
and International Studies, University of California
Santa Barbara. His website is </span></i><a
href="http://www.ramzybaroud.net/"><i><span>www.ramzybaroud.net</span></i></a><i><span>.</span></i></p>
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