As the state news agency Xinhua reported, in separate phone calls with top Israeli and Palestinian diplomats, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang offered his country mediation in the decades-long conflict. Qin encouraged both sides to “take steps to resume peace talks”. China is ready to create a framework for this, he said in his phone call with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, according to Xinhua.
According to the report, Qin told Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki that China supports the resumption of Middle East peace talks as soon as possible. These must be based on a two-state solution. The situation in the Middle East is currently extremely tense. Since the beginning of the year, the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has claimed countless lives. Peace talks have been on hold since 2014.
Portal/Etienne Oliveau Chinese President Xi during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu
Israel’s Foreign Ministry also said it had asked China to intervene with Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons. “I spoke with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang about the danger we see in Iran’s nuclear program, a danger shared by many countries in the region, including countries that have diplomatic relations with Iran,” said the foreign minister. Foreign Affairs of Israel, Eli Cohen, in a statement.
Also mediated between Saudi Arabia and Iran
The announcement of a possible mediation between Israel and Palestine came weeks after China began the resumption of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Countries are actually regional rivals due to religious, political and military tensions. Iran sees itself as the protective power of the Shiites, while Saudi Arabia claims that role for the Sunnis.
Iran and Saudi Arabia also support different sides in conflicts that have plagued the region for years, most notably the civil wars in Yemen and Syria. The normalization of relations is considered an important reduction in tensions, which also extend beyond the neighbors of the Persian Gulf, writes the “” (“FAZ”). The rapprochement could also have an impact on the Syrian conflict.
APA/AFP Xi was recently received with enthusiasm in Saudi Arabia
China as a “Responsible Great Power”
On the one hand, efforts in the Middle East can therefore be seen as a clear diplomatic success. At the same time, according to experts, China also hopes for geopolitical advantages through its positioning as a peacemaker. “China wants to prove that it is a responsible world power,” sinologist and political scientist Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik told ORF.at.
The rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia is seen in Beijing as a precedent for ambitions to act internationally as a security actor, according to the FAZ. China’s top foreign policy leader, Wang Yi, also called his country a “reliable mediator” and thereby confirmed China’s new and unknown role in a world where “it’s not just about the war in Ukraine”.
There are also other issues, Wang said, “related to peace and people’s livelihood that require attention from the international community.” According to the FAZ, Wang knows that the accusation that the West is only interested in its own victims finds fertile ground in the Global South.
competition with the United States
Another important point is the dispute for international dominance with the US, emphasizes Weigelin-Schwiedrzik in an interview with ORF.at. “China wants to show that it can bring an end to conflicts that have been simmering for years and that the US has previously faced and say: we are not just filling the vacuum, we are also solving the problems.” allies.
debate
How big is China’s power?
According to “FAZ”, Saudi Arabia, for example, by recognizing China’s role in peace negotiations, makes it clear that it depends more and more on China in a bipolar world. China, on the other hand, is interested in stability in the regions so as not to compromise its energy supply, writes the German “Handelsblatt”. In view of the energy transition, the state-owned oil company is looking for reliable partners. China is already the biggest buyer of Saudi oil.
The deterioration of diplomacy between the United States and Saudi Arabia continues to play in China’s favor: the Saudi Arabian government had warned the United States against interference and “imposition of values” in the dispute over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. US criticism of the human rights situation and the war in Yemen further aggravated the situation.
War in Ukraine thwarted China’s plans
Also in the Ukraine war, China recently revealed its mediation ambitions and, in an eagerly awaited position paper, called for a ceasefire and the resumption of talks between the countries. However, the West reacted skeptically to China’s initiative. NATO and the EU have criticized the fact that China has repeatedly sided with Russia.
AP/Pavel Byrkin China benefits from good relations with Russia in several ways
According to Weigelin-Schwiedrzik, however, China has a vested interest in the war ending quickly. “The war in Ukraine was an obstacle for China”, says the Sinologist. “China originally wanted to find an amicable solution with the US on how to divide the world. The war ruined the plans and the hope that an agreement could still be reached with the Americans disappeared”.
Military escalation possible “every day”.
China doesn’t just want to boost its own economy and invest in Russia – it also needs a strong partner in the event of a military conflict with Taiwan. Regardless of efforts to act internationally as part of peacebuilding, Weigelin-Schwiedrzik believes that war between China and Taiwan could break out at any moment.
The communist leadership in Beijing regards independently governed Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic and threatens to conquer it. “The conflict could escalate militarily any day, just one accident and then we are in trouble”, says the sinologist. As far as Taiwan’s destroyed advanced chip production facilities are concerned, nobody would benefit from that – not even China.