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刘中民:With no historical or hegemonic burden, China has room to mediate in Mid-East
发布时间: 2021-05-28 浏览次数: 101

For thepast two decades, the US was the dominant power in the Middle East. Since theArab Spring - a string of uprisings across the region, which firststarted in Tunisia, the US has reflected on the possibility that its decline inpower might be rooted in the Iraq war. Its commitment to the Middle East hasdwindled since then, but it has posed more challenges to Washington - while theUS is reluctant to invest more in the Middle East, it still wants to maintainits leadership in the region. Later, the US made profits by selling arms to theMiddle East and became increasingly utilitarian.

TheQuartet, comprised of the EU, Russia, the UN and the US as the main parties tofacilitate the Middle East peace process negotiations, has become almostparalyzed because American unilateralism has made it difficult to resolve theIsrael-Palestine issue.

TheIsraeli-Palestinian conflict is partly the remaining mess of the Trump era.Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has almostoverturned the basic international consensus on the issue.

It isworth mentioning that the Resolution 242(1967) of the UN, which acknowledgesthe claim of sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence ofevery state in the region, is the basis for settling the Israel-Palestineconflict. China also supports the establishment of an independent State ofPalestine that enjoys full sovereignty on the basis of this resolution. Chinahas no intention to compete with the US in the Middle East.

On manyinternational issues, China is increasingly engaged or willing to play aconstructive role, but not to challenge anyone. China's activities in theMiddle East are more about economic and trade development, such as energysupply, industrialization and the promotion of the Belt and Road Initiative.

However,China's involvement in the region is not to fill any voids in the Middle Eastleft by the US. Beijing is fully aware that if it participates in Middle Eastaffairs with competitive or geopolitical purposes, it will be detrimental tothe stability of the region, which will also harm China's interests.

Washingtonnow has little room to mediate a peaceful resolution of the conflicts in the MiddleEast. And President Joe Biden knows very well that Washington will facepressure from all sides as long as the Middle East issue is included in amultilateral mechanism like the UN. Washington is no longer capable of leadingthe solution to the Palestine-Israel conflict, nor does it have a solid plan inplace. Therefore, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to the region,which started on Tuesday, has only limited effects.

Chinaplays mostly a role of persuasion and peacemaking in solving the issue betweenPalestine and Israel. It has established friendly relations with many Arabcountries, including the establishment of an innovative and comprehensivepartnership with Israel, and a long-standing friendship with Palestine.In this way, it is able to speak to both Israel and Palestine. On May 17,Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi put forth a four-pointproposal for peace with the current Israel-Palestine conflict.

With itsability to deal with all sides, China has a clear advantage in engaging thesolution to the Palestine-Israel conflict. Historically it was not involved inany dispute in the Middle East. Nor does it favor Israel as the US does. Itdoes not have the historical liability of colonialism and hegemony.

China hasa long history of friendship with all parties in the Middle East, whichprovides a good basis for it to exert its power as a member of theinternational community. In March, China and Iran signed a 25-year agreement toenhance comprehensive cooperation in a range of fields including trade. Chinaalso has gained some experience in dealing with international issues after itsinvolvement in hotspot issues, such as Sudan and Afghanistan.

Beijingstill has room to cooperate with Washington on the Middle East issue, and thecore measure to end the conflict is through multilateralism under the UNframework. As Washington engages less and less in Middle East affairs, someWestern media outlets are trying to create this narrative: China's involvementin solving the Afghanistan issue and the Palestine-Israel conflict is aimed atcompeting with the US. This is a trap we should be wary of.

(作者:刘中民,系上海外国语大学中东研究所教授)

来源:Global Times