The Middle East ushered in a "tide of reconciliation" and China contributed positive energy

Recently, driven by China and other international positive forces, the Middle East, once regarded as the "world powder keg", has ushered in a wave of reconciliation: Saudi Arabia and Iran have resumed diplomatic relations, the Syrian foreign minister has visited Saudi Arabia for the first time in 12 years, there have been positive developments in the peace process in Yemen, Qatar and Bahrain have decided to resume diplomatic relations, Turkey and Egypt have improved bilateral relations...

In this regard, the international community praised China for actively promoting the cooling and resolution of hotspot issues in the Middle East and making important contributions to promoting peace in the region.

Sincerely build a platform for dialogue

Recently, the spillover and extension effect of the resumption of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran has injected strong impetus into the easing of relations in the Middle East. The Times of Israel reported that with the historic handshake and peace between the two "old enemies" under the mediation of China, many countries in the Middle East have reached reconciliation or eased relations, relations between countries have improved significantly, and a multipolar Middle East is taking shape.

During this period, China continued to make unremitting efforts to promote peace and tranquillity in the Middle East. On April 17, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang spoke by telegram with the Palestinian and Israeli counterparts, stressing that China is willing to play a positive role in resuming peace talks between Palestine and Israel as soon as possible. On the same day, Geng Shuang, Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, said that China hopes that all parties in Yemen will take substantive steps towards a political settlement of the Yemeni issue as soon as possible.

"This round of Middle East 'reconciliation wave' did not appear suddenly, but behind it is the long-term unremitting joint efforts of China and Middle Eastern countries." Sun Xia, associate researcher at the Institute of International Studies of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with this reporter that in recent years, China has continued to contribute Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to the realization of long-term peace and prosperity in the Middle East. China has successively put forward the five-point initiative for achieving security and stability in the Middle East, the four-point proposal for a political settlement of the Syrian issue, and the three-point idea for implementing the "two-state solution" on the Palestinian issue. In addition, the Chinese government has also set up special envoys for the Middle East and Syria, as well as held seminars and security forums to discuss security challenges and solutions in the Middle East.

Pakistan's Tribune Express also believes that the Shah-Iraq reconciliation was not achieved overnight, but the result of extensive preparations. China has been a peacemaker because it has established good relations with both Iran and Saudi Arabia. China has been Iran's largest trading partner for 10 consecutive years, and the two countries have also signed a 25-year cooperation agreement to strengthen economic and security cooperation. China is also Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner. In December 2022, during the visit of Chinese leaders to Saudi Arabia, China and Saudi Arabia signed a series of agreements, including a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement.

The analysis believes that in addition to close economic and trade exchanges, China's pursuit of the principle of balanced and friendly diplomacy in the Middle East for many years is also an important reason why China can become a reliable mediator.

"China has always pursued a foreign policy of not seeking spheres of influence and not interfering in the internal affairs of Middle East countries, and has built a platform for dialogue from various aspects. China's image as a responsible major country has been widely recognized in Middle Eastern countries. Wang Jin, associate professor of the Middle East Institute of Northwest University, analyzed to this reporter that in the process of promoting reconciliation among Middle East countries, China has always been sincere, does not set preconditions, does not seek its own selfish interests, insists on winning trust through equal consultation, and allows the countries concerned to "voluntarily come to the negotiating table", which is in sharp contrast to some countries that often wave the "sanctions stick" and even directly use military force to "press the countries concerned at the negotiating table".

In line with the expectations of the people of the Middle East

It is worth noting that since the Shai-Iraq reconciliation, there have been many new moves in diplomatic reconciliation among Arab countries in recent times. On April 17, Iran's Foreign Ministry said Iranian President Raisi and Saudi King Salman had invited each other to visit their respective countries. On the same day, Turki Malki, spokesman for the Saudi-led multinational coalition, announced that according to a humanitarian initiative proposed by Saudi Arabia, the multinational coalition released 104 captured Yemeni Houthi fighters on the same day, and the operation of the multinational coalition and the Houthi armed forces to release prisoners from each other ended.

Expert analysis believes that the emergence of the "tide of reconciliation" in Middle East countries is inseparable from a strong endogenous driving force, and domestic development and external relaxation have become the direction of domestic and foreign policies of many countries in the region.

"At present, Middle East countries are facing many challenges: in terms of regional security, the United States has seen a clear strategic contraction in the Middle East in recent years, and its attention has turned to the Asia-Pacific region and Europe. With the emergency withdrawal of a large number of US troops from the Middle East, the security situation in the region has deteriorated, oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries have been repeatedly attacked by Houthi forces, and the safety of important shipping lanes for Gulf countries to transport oil, natural gas, grain and other imported commodities is also difficult to guarantee. In terms of economic development, many Middle Eastern countries are in the process of economic transformation, hoping to get rid of their dependence on fossil fuel export earnings and promote economic diversification and industrial upgrading. In terms of non-traditional security, mitigating climate change, protecting limited water resources, and ensuring food security are all urgent issues facing Middle Eastern countries. Sun Xia pointed out that the people of the Middle East urgently need a peaceful and stable regional environment. China's efforts to promote reconciliation among Middle East countries accord with the Middle East people's aspiration for peace and their aspirations for development.

According to the BBC, a new survey report by the international polling agency Arabian Barometer shows that Arab people in the Middle East and North Africa are losing confidence in the economic stability that Western democracy can bring. Middle East analysts believe that uniting to jointly cope with the crisis and tide over difficulties has been widely recognized by leaders of Middle Eastern countries. In the future, more and more countries will formulate policies mainly based on their own development needs, and will not fight and take sides as before.

Provide new concepts for peaceful development

Under China's active mediation, the Middle East has ushered in a "tide of peace" with far-reaching influence. "First of all, Middle East countries have further enhanced their political autonomy and mainly rely on their own strength to deal with regional security issues, which is conducive to long-term stability and peace in the Middle East; Second, the reconciliation of many countries in the Middle East will help promote the overall economic development of the Middle East, countries can strengthen complementary advantages, and the long-awaited economic integration of Middle East countries will also achieve breakthroughs. Sun Xia said.

Saudi Arabia's international experts Shabani pointed out that China, as a responsible major country, provides broader space and more creative ideas for the development aspirations of Middle Eastern countries.

Against the historical background that the world is facing unprecedented changes in a century and human society is facing unprecedented challenges, promoting the "tide of reconciliation" in the Middle East is a wonderful practice of China's advocacy of global security initiatives and the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind, providing an important demonstration for all countries in the world to resolve conflicts through dialogue and consultation.

Omari, a columnist for Syria's "Fatherland", said that under the framework of the Global Security Initiative, China has carried out security cooperation with other countries and international organizations around the world, actively promoted the docking of security concepts and the integration of interests, and the restoration of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the best example. At the political level, the Shah-Iran reconciliation will have a positive impact on resolving various crises and conflicts in Syria, Iraq and other countries, which is a true reflection of China's active efforts in maintaining global security.

In February this year, China officially released the Global Security Initiative Concept Paper, which lists 20 key cooperation directions for the most prominent and urgent international security concerns at present, and puts forward proposals for the cooperation platform and mechanism of the initiative. At present, more than 80 countries and international organizations have expressed their appreciation and support for the initiative. The proposal has been clearly written into more than 20 bilateral and multilateral documents on China's exchanges with relevant countries and organizations.

"The Global Security Initiative offers a new vision for peace and development in the Middle East and the rest of the world. Different from the practice of some countries pulling one faction against another, on the premise of not interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, China actively participates in the political settlement of various hotspot issues in accordance with the wishes and needs of the countries concerned, with persuasion and talks as the main method and fairness and pragmatism as the main attitude. In the face of the turbulent international situation and the century-old changes that have accelerated its evolution, China has firmly implemented the global security initiative from the perspective of the common interests of all mankind and a community with a shared future for mankind, provided Chinese solutions for the world to eliminate the security deficit, and demonstrated China's responsibility for safeguarding world peace. Wang Jin said. (Yan Yu)

Source: Overseas.com