A Chinese embassy spokesperson expressed confidence in July that Beijing is willing to play a positive role in promoting peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, hoping that the rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia will bring a “wave of reconciliation” in the Middle East.
Last month, Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to Beijing and invited Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu to visit.
China’s role in the détente between Iran and Saudi Arabia received widespread attention, with some labeling it as a defining moment, a demonstration that while the United States’ star in the region was waning, China’s was rising.
Then on October 7, the armed group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing at least 1,400 people and kidnapping more than 200. Israel has responded with a brutal bombardment of the blockaded Gaza Strip and recently launched ground attacks on the coastal strip, which is controlled by Hamas.
At least 9,770 Palestinians have been killed so far, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
US President Joe Biden quickly condemned Hamas’ attack, while his administration later ordered two strike groups to the eastern Mediterranean and prepared to deploy 2,000 troops to deter other actors from expanding the war in the region.
Biden also visited Israel in a show of solidarity. A meeting was planned between Biden and several Arab leaders, but it was canceled after an explosion at Gaza’s Al Ahli hospital left hundreds dead.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron also visited Israel, while Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa traveled to Israel and Jordan.
At the same time, Egypt and Qatar are reportedly playing a key role in the negotiations for the release of Hamas prisoners.
However, China’s involvement has looked very different.
Beijing has sent its Middle East envoy, Zhai Jun, but neither Xi nor his Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, have visited the region since the fighting broke out.
Xi has called for a ceasefire, while Wang has said the source of the conflict “lies in the failure to do justice to the Palestinian people” and that “collective punishment” must end of the Palestinians.
Such statements follow China’s basic principle when a conflict breaks out between Israelis and Palestinians, said William Figueroa, an assistant professor at the University of Groningen who has researched China’s relationship with countries in the Middle East.
“They initially take a very cautious stance and then call for peace and condemn violence against civilians, while primarily focusing on Palestinian grievances,” he told Al Jazeera.
Yao-Yuan Yeh is a professor of international studies focusing on Taiwan, China and Japan at the American University of St. Thomas. He agrees that despite increased Chinese diplomatic involvement in the Middle East recently, this has not translated into a leading mediating role in the current war between Hamas and Israel.
“We haven’t really seen the Chinese do anything new or take a leadership position in the current conflict.”
Israel-Palestine in Beijing’s Middle East Strategy
In the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ attack on Israel, the Chinese government was accused of responding in vague terms and taking a noncommittal tone.
“At first they took a wait-and-see approach,” Figueroa says.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry called for calm and restraint and refrained from condemning Hamas.
Beijing has traditionally prioritized relations with the Palestinians in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
During the era of Mao Zedong, Beijing viewed the Palestinian struggle for land as part of the world’s national liberation movement, said Hongda Fan, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University.
“The understanding of the Palestinian issue still largely comes from this perception,” Fan told Al Jazeera.
In 1965, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was allowed to open a diplomatic mission in China, and in 1974 it was upgraded to an embassy. Beijing was probably the PLO’s main arms supplier for a time in the 1960s and 1970s, Beirut said. -based Institute for Palestine Studies, and recognizes the State of Palestine since 1988.
However, China has also expanded its ties with Israel.
China established full diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992 and has since invested billions in its economy – its investments in the Palestinian territories are negligible in comparison.
But Chinese investments in Israel in turn pale in comparison to the economic relationship with Saudi Arabia.
“China has invested heavily in Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf countries,” Figueroa said.
Beijing and Riyadh announced investment deals worth $10 billion in June.
Trade between the two reached $106 billion in 2022 – almost double the value of Saudi Arabia-US trade.
China is also the main buyer of Saudi Arabian and Iranian oil.
This is part of a larger development that has made China the Arab world’s most important trading partner.
According to Figueroa, China’s deep economic ties with the Gulf states have contributed to a Chinese view of the Middle East that focuses on certain Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia.
So when it became clear that there would be a strong outcry from these countries following the Israeli military operations in Gaza, Chinese rhetoric became much more clearly pro-Palestinian, Figueroa noted.
Subsequently, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang accused Israel of going “beyond self-defense” in its military actions in Gaza.
Against the US
This has put the Chinese government at odds with the US.
While there has been a lack of Chinese diplomatic leadership in the conflict, analysts say China has been more outspoken in its criticism of Washington even as the two countries try to rebuild their severely strained relationship.
![China's Wang Yi, Iran's Ali Shamkhani and Saudi Musaad bin Mohammed Al Aiban pose for photos](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2023-03-10T170954Z_167983359_RC2ZQZ9WGGB7_RTRMADP_3_IRAN-SAUDI-DIPLOMACY-CHINA-2.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C513)
In an editorial in the government-controlled China Daily, the newspaper accused the US of “adding fuel to the fire by blindly supporting Israel in the ongoing conflict.” The state-run Global Times said in its own editorial that the US was “stained with the blood of innocent civilians” after the US vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution drafted by Brazil on October 18. calling for a humanitarian pause in the conflict. to allow aid to Gaza.
On October 27, a resolution drafted by Jordan and submitted to the UN General Assembly received support from 120 countries. The US voted against, while China voted in favor.
Previously, China, along with Russia, vetoed a US draft resolution establishing Israel’s right to defend itself and demanding that Iran stop exporting weapons to hardline groups.
“The draft does not reflect the world’s strongest call for a ceasefire, an end to the fighting, and it does not help resolve the issue,” China’s U.N. Ambassador Zhang Jun told the council after the vote .
Beijing chairs the Security Council this month and has said the war between Israel and Gaza will be a priority.
Outlining China’s plans for November, Zhang said the council’s performance was “not as good as what the world community expects,” and that every effort would be made to guide the council toward concrete actions to promote political settlements.
“To make it more specific, the highest priority [this month] is to address the conflict between Israel and Palestine – namely Gaza,” he said.
On Monday, the 15-member organization will deliberate more behind closed doors on the conflict at the request of China and the United Arab Emirates.
“The best-case scenario for China would be for the fighting to end as quickly as possible and for China to be involved in some way in any possible negotiation process,” Figueroa said.
“But honestly, I’m not sure they’ll be able to get involved at all.”