Chinese diplomats have been busy this year. The country just announced its desire to serve as a mediator between Israel and the Palestinians on the back of a stunningly productive effort to restore ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran.اضافة اعلان
Entering the deadlocked Israeli-Palestinian conflict represents the next step in China’s foreign policy, which until recently was denoted by large-scale infrastructure projects and cheap loans to emerging countries. With the era of cheap money closing, Beijing is trying new ways to entrench its global influence and chip away at Washington’s dominant position in the Middle East. Just do not expect any breakthroughs on Israel-Palestine.
China has previously dipped its toe into the conflict with various iterations of a four point peace plan. The last effort in 2021 called for de-escalation measures, a boost in aid and the resumption of peace talks based on a two-state solution. But America’s dominance of any process meant the Chinese efforts were not taken particularly seriously. A shift in geopolitical forces in the region means people are now listening.
With the era of cheap money closing, Beijing is trying new ways to entrench its global influence and chip away at Washington’s dominant position in the Middle East. Just do not expect any breakthroughs on Israel-Palestine.
China’s recent diplomatic streak is one way the country is trying to protect its status as a global superpower and chip away at American influence. As part of its long-term goal of unseating the US dollar as the global currency, China has redoubled its efforts to have major oil-producing countries like Saudi Arabia trade oil in yuan and other countries. In South America, there have been new discussions from BRICS member states like Brazil about moving away from the dollar as a trade currency. If any of these rumblings come to fruition, they will cause a profound headache for the US.
With these attempts as a background, China’s push into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an apparent assault on America’s position in the Middle East. And it does not come out of thin air. Israel and China have quietly developed close military and trade relations over the past decades, much to the ire of the US. On a 2017 trip to Beijing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the two countries were a “marriage made in heaven.” On that visit, they signed a far-reaching trade agreement called the “Comprehensive Innovation Partnership.”
Behind the EU and the US, China is Israel’s third largest trading partner. But what is important to note is where the trade flows are focused. According to Time Magazine, 492 of the 507 trade deals between the two countries from 2002 to 2022 were in the technology sector, including IT, communications, agricultural tech, and robotics.
China has also pushed its infrastructure initiatives in Israel in the past decade. In 2021, Chinese companies were involved in expanding the Haifa port. The US expressed serious reservations about the partnership because the US often uses Haifa to dock parts of the American Sixth Fleet. Israel rejected the request when the US demanded to inspect the port to ensure there wasn’t any Chinese surveillance technology that could snoop on the Sixth Fleet.
The Chinese footprint in the Middle East is growing due to decades of careful planning and quiet courtship, regardless of how America feels. With Chinese purchases of Middle Eastern crude oil on the rise and the US divided on the future of its position in the region, Chinese influence will deepen and come fully into the light.
The Chinese footprint in the Middle East is growing due to decades of careful planning and quiet courtship, regardless of how America feels. With Chinese purchases of Middle Eastern crude oil on the rise and the US divided on the future of its position in the region, Chinese influence will deepen and come fully into the light.
We can see the fruits of these years of careful planning with China’s diplomatic efforts between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The question now is whether or not China will be able to break the impasse and forge a new approach to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Unfortunately, those prospects do not look bright. Israel’s continued occupation of Palestinian land and livelihoods must change in any equitable and durable peace solutions.
Let us consider the economic dimension. Israel’s vaulted technology sector has been built around using the occupation as a valuable technological laboratory. The Pegasus spyware software exported around the world, for example, wouldn’t exist without Israel’s occupation. Israel’s matrix of control over Palestinian life is a perfect laboratory to test surveillance technology. Most engineers behind the Pegasus system were trained by the Israeli army and tested their craft in the occupied territories. China is a significant customer of this technology and doesn’t likely want to risk losing these innovations.
Palestinians once again find themselves on the wrong end of a geopolitical battle for power in which they are a pawn. Israel will use its warm relationship with Beijing and its budding technology prowess to ensure that the status quo of its control over Palestinians remains unchanged. If there were actionable support for the Palestinian cause in the Arab world, one would expect more pressure on Beijing to take Israel to task for its unending domination over Palestinian life. Still, the direction of travel is happening in the other way. Saudi Arabia, for example, could offer to trade more oil in Yuan or open up parts of Saudi Aramco to Chinese investors in exchange for concrete pressure on Israel to abide by existing international agreements and treaties regarding Palestine.
Israel will use its warm relationship with Beijing and its budding technology prowess to ensure that the status quo of its control over Palestinians remains unchanged.
As more Arab countries establish full and robust relations with Israel, few carrots or sticks can be used to ensure that Beijing behaves as a reasonable mediator. Thus, it matters little from the Palestinian standpoint if China or the US meditates on the conflict. They can expect the same results, such as Israeli entrenchment of its occupation and control over Palestinian life.
China’s push into Middle Eastern diplomacy has more to do with its status as a superpower chipping away at American prestige in the region than solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Joseph Dana is a writer based in South Africa and the Middle East. He has reported from Jerusalem, Ramallah, Cairo, Istanbul, and Abu Dhabi. He was formerly editor-in-chief of emerge85, a media project based in Abu Dhabi exploring change in emerging markets.
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