James Hinote, Geopolitical Strategist
Jan 11, 2023
President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia seeks to disrupt the U.S.’ influence in the region and deepen relationships with one of the largest oil exporting countries in the world, with the signing of multiple agreements. Each move put more pressure on the U.S. to reevaluate its relationship with Saudi Arabia.
Fu Xiaoqiang, Vice President, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations
Apr 25, 2022
Third high-level meeting of Afghan officials, together with the foreign ministers of neighboring countries, reflected China’s strategic commitment to the greater Middle East region and charted a course that can lead to the end of chaos.
Jin Liangxiang, Senior Research Fellow, Shanghai Institute of Int'l Studies
Jan 07, 2022
China attaches great importance to Middle Eastern countries, with their range of ethnic and religious backgrounds, but its policies are based on right and wrong. It will not sacrifice its long-held principles and values.
Tom Harper, Doctoral researcher, University of Surrey
Feb 25, 2020
Iraq is an example of how recent instability in American-Middle Eastern relations has opened the door for China to expand its influence in the region via investment projects and an exploitation of local politics.
Jin Liangxiang, Senior Research Fellow, Shanghai Institute of Int'l Studies
May 10, 2018
The future Middle East order will be characterized by interactions among regional actors instead of external ones.
Wang Zhen, Research Professor, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences
Apr 19, 2017
China and the US have different positions on the Syria situation, but they share many common interests too, including restoring peace and stability in the region, cracking down on extremists and rebuilding regional order and the balance of power in the Middle East. The countries differ over how to achieve these goals.
Yun Sun, Director of the China Program and Co-director of the East Asia Program, Stimson Center
Nov 09, 2016
Forty percent of China’s total ten vetoes ever casted at the UN Security Council have been on Syria, making it the most-vetoed issue of all time for China. The four vetoes and most recent abstention from the French-drafted resolution underscore China’s increasingly assertive stance on state sovereignty, territorial integrity and its repulsion to foreign interference.
Hadas Peled, Doctoral Candidate, Tsinghua University
Oct 25, 2016
The China-Israel Financial Protocol ('Financial Protocol'), signed 20 years ago has already reached a cumulative value of 2.6 Billion USD to date. The Financial Protocol facilitates the introduction of advanced high-tech Israeli goods and services to China by providing government insurance to reduce risks and financial costs. In this respect, the Financial Protocol sets a good example for the implementation of the Road and Belt Initiative, although it is not specifically included in the scope of diplomacy.
Wang Zhen, Research Professor, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences
Mar 15, 2016
China has neither the military infrastructure nor the political will to strike IS forces on the ground in the Middle East. But China continues to build its military capacity and is by no means looking for a “free ride” in the Middle East.
Brahma Chellaney, Professor, Center for Policy Research
Mar 14, 2016
At a time when the conflict within Islam has sharpened between Sunnis and Shias and between fundamentalists and reformers, the House of Saud — the world’s No. 1 promoter of radical Islamic extremism — is increasingly playing the sectarian card, even at the risk of deepening the schisms. This aggressive activism carries significant implications for U.S. interests, from the Middle East to Asia.