"Houses burned, power plants were destroyed, streets were destroyed: many syrian cities were completely destroyed after more than a decade of civil war, their economies were devastated, and many lived in abject poverty. Assad's government lacks funding — for example, to repair destroyed infrastructure. Until radical political change takes place in the country, the West refuses to help rebuild. Now, Syria has identified a source of funding that does not require cumbersome reform requirements — China. The civil war nation wants to expand cooperation with East Asian economic powers. A week ago, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on Belt and Road cooperation. ”
China and Syria signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Belt and Road Cooperation.
The German News Agency (DPA) on the 19th to "Far from the West? China is becoming a new partner in the Arab world", under the Belt and Road Initiative, China is supporting infrastructure projects around the world. The focus is on the Arab states, which in recent years have signed agreements with almost all Arab countries.
According to the Conrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) in Germany, China plans to invest up to $600 billion in the region by 2023. China is already the most important trading partner of many Arab countries. The trade volume between China and Arab countries in 2020 has reached nearly 240 billion US dollars. Among them, China's exports to Arab countries exceeded US$120 billion, and it still achieved a year-on-year growth of 2.2% in the epidemic, especially mechanical and electrical and high-tech products accounted for two-thirds.
China imports a lot of oil from the Middle East.
Earlier, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, as well as the secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, arrived in Beijing for a four-day visit to discuss economic relations with China. The planned free trade agreement (FTA) between the Gulf states and China is at the top of the agenda. This is China's diplomatic priority in 2022 and has been successful.
China, on the other hand, has one of the most important things in Arabia: meeting its growing energy needs. For example, the second-largest economy is eagerly dependent on oil imports from Gulf states.
In fact, Arab countries do not want to rely on oil forever, but are trying to diversify their long-term wealth in new ways. A particular example of this is Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, which recently acquired British football club Newcastle United and invested in China. They clearly see the world's largest consumer market as an important part of their economic strategy. By the end of 2020, Arab investments in China totaled US$3.8 billion. The two-way investment between China and Argentina covers many fields such as oil and gas, construction, manufacturing, logistics, and electric power.
The Burj Khalifa lights up for China.
Most importantly, they also see a politically reliable partner in China that respects the national sovereignty of other countries more than the West.
Unlike the West, China avoids getting involved in conflicts in the region. "China has a very clear strategy: not to interfere in its internal affairs," said Giannan Attilgen, head of the Middle East and North Africa at the Adenauer Foundation. That's why the economic powerhouse doesn't link its aid to democratic reforms, among other things. "For many countries in the Middle East and North Africa, this development strategy in China is a very welcome alternative to the values-based European model," Artilgen said.
In return for China's non-interference, Arab countries are also reluctant to talk about China's internal affairs under the West. Polls show that many in the Arab world are open to relations with China. On the other hand, they are now skeptical about their relationship with the United States.
China participates in the construction of Egypt's new capital.
In Egypt alone, China has invested billions of dollars in infrastructure, energy, telecommunications and Suez Canal projects. President Sisi has visited China six times since 2014 and signed at least 25 bilateral agreements.
The United States apparently misjudged its influence over Arab countries, many of which have long had close ties with Washington. On the other hand, Beijing provides economic and political security to these countries in ways that the United States cannot provide, leading them to increasingly turn their attention to the Far East.
The United States often sends aircraft carriers to the Middle East,
The United States, of course, was shocked by the Arab shift to the Far East and sought to undermine relations between China and the UAE at the end of last year. First there was Washington's demand to abandon the deal with Huawei, and then China was accused of building a secret military base in Khalifa Port. But these attempts have been largely unsuccessful, and while Abu Dhabi shelved the Khalifa Port project to appease the U.S., it also abandoned the F-35 fighter jet business and hailed the U.S. demands as an unacceptable violation of national sovereignty.
And Europe? It also has a complicated mentality towards China and Arab countries. They are unwilling to abandon Western-values diplomacy toward Arab countries or cede influence to China.
China-Arab States Expo.
The European Think Tank Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) assumes that China will work more closely with Europe in the future to de-escalate conflicts in the Arab world. But apart from the issue of migration, the region has moved away from The European spotlight, which sees the region only as a buffer zone or border. Crucially, the Arab States also want to be seen as an area of potential and opportunity. And China has recognized this.