As the state news agency Xinhua reported, in separate telephone calls with the Israeli and Palestinian chief 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 should 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 already claimed numerous lives. The peace negotiations have been on hold since 2014.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry also said it had asked China to intervene with Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons. “I spoke to 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 ties with Iran,” the Israeli foreign minister said 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-initiated the resumption of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The 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 this 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. A normalization of relations is considered an important de-escalation of tensions, which also extend beyond the neighbors on the Persian Gulf, writes the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (“FAZ”). The rapprochement could also have an impact on the Syrian conflict.
China as a “responsible great power”
On the one hand, the efforts in the Middle East can therefore be seen as a clear diplomatic success. At the same time, according to experts, China is also hoping for geopolitical advantages through its positioning as a peacemaker. “China wants to prove that it is a responsible world power,” said sinologist and political scientist Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik to 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 thus confirmed a new, previously unknown role for China in a world in which “it’s not just about the war in Ukraine”.
There are also other issues, Wang said, “related to peace and people’s livelihoods 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 falls on fertile ground in the Global South.
competition with the United States
Another important point is the competition for international dominance with the USA, emphasizes Weigelin-Schwiedrzik in an interview with ORF.at. “China wants to show that it can bring conflicts that have been smoldering for years and that were previously tackled by the USA to an end and say: We’re not just filling the vacuum, we’re also solving the problems.” gain new allies.
According to “FAZ”, Saudi Arabia, for example, by recognizing China’s role in the peace talks, is making it clear that it is increasingly relying on China in a bipolar world. China, on the other hand, is interested in stability in the regions so as not to jeopardize its energy supply, writes the German “Handelsblatt”. With a view to the energy transition, the oil state is looking for reliable partners. China is already the most important buyer of Saudi oil.
A deterioration in diplomacy between the United States and Saudi Arabia continues to play into China’s hands: 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. Criticism by the USA of the human rights situation and the war in Yemen have further aggravated the situation.
Ukraine war thwarted China’s plans
In the Ukraine war, too, China has recently revealed its mediation ambitions and, in an eagerly awaited position paper, called for a ceasefire and a resumption of negotiations between the countries. However, the West reacted with skepticism to China’s initiative. NATO and the EU have criticized the fact that China has repeatedly sided with Russia.
According to Weigelin-Schwiedrzik, however, China does have a strong interest in the war being ended quickly. “The war in Ukraine threw a spanner in the works for China,” says the sinologist. “China originally wanted to find an amicable solution with the US on how to divide the world. The war has thrown the plans into disarray and the hope that an agreement can still be reached with the Americans has vanished.”
Military escalation possible “every day”.
China not only wants 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 a peace-building party, Weigelin-Schwiedrzik believes that war between China and Taiwan could break out at any time.
The communist leadership in Beijing regards the independently governed Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic and threatens to conquer it. “The conflict could escalate militarily any day, all it takes is an accident and then we’re in trouble,” says the sinologist. With regard to the destroyed Taiwanese production facilities for advanced chips, nobody would benefit from this – not even China.
