China is currently hosting a China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, an important gathering that underpins how China is seeking to play a larger role in the Middle East. The Forum could also have ramifications for the current Israeli war in Gaza, which Israeli officials believe may continue for another seven months. China and the Arab states may have different views on the conflict.
The Egyptian leader Abdel Fatah al-Sisi attended the meetings in China alongside Tunisia’s President Kais Saied, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Bahrain King Hamad.
According to a report at Arab News, “Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an international peace conference focused on the Israel-Hamas war and promised more humanitarian aid as he opened a summit with leaders of Arab states Thursday in Beijing.” XI said in a statement that “as war is raging causing tremendous suffering, justice can’t be absent and the two-state solution can’t be shaken.”
China and the Arab world
China wants to improve cooperation with the Arab states. It is focusing on “trade, clean energy, space exploration and health care.”
Arab News reported that “Beijing and the Arab states back the Palestinians in the conflict, where Israel is facing growing international condemnation after the strike in the southern Gaza city of Rafah in which at least 45 were killed over the weekend,” the report said.
China has been increasingly vocal on the Palestinian issue in recent times. It also now has a new 25-year deal with Iran and has been working more closely with the Gulf in recent years. China is also seeking to play a potential role in the Ukraine war and possibly host some kind of a peace discussion there with the Russians. Beijing stands behind Moscow.
China’s Politburo Standing Committee member Cai Qi, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, China’s President Xi Jinping, United Arab Emirates’ President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Tunisia’s President Kais Saied and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi (credit: JADE GAO/Pool via REUTERS)
“China wants to present itself as an alternative to the West,” the report at Arab News said. The report quoted Maria Papageorgiou, a lecturer in politics and international relations at University of Exeter discussing this topic.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi spoke on meeting President Xi. “Investments between Egypt and China amounted to around $14 billion in 2023, compared to $16.6 billion in 2022,” the report said.
Iranian-backed Houthi attacks however have harmed vessels that transit the Red Sea, impacting Egypt. This means the war in Gaza impacts Egypt on several fronts.
This is the tenth session of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum. The UAE has a keen interest in these meetings and Al-Ain media in the UAE stressed the role of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at the event. UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said that the meeting comes at a time when the world needs unity and solidarity. “He stressed that the UAE believes that concerted efforts, cooperation, and joint international action are the best way to advance our countries, meet the aspirations of our peoples, and ensure a prosperous future for future generations,” Al Ain noted. The UAE leader also said that joint Arab-Chinese action could help achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and also secure the flow of humanitarian aid. This could lead to peace in the region.
Meanwhile the Egyptian leader stressed that he did not want to see Palestinians displaced from Gaza. “I call on the international community to work without delay on the immediate and sustainable access of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip to put an end to the Israeli state of siege,” Al-Ain reported the Egyptian leader saying. Al-Sisi added, “I reiterate that there is no way to reach peace and regional stability…except through a comprehensive treatment of the Palestinian issue.”
