From March 24 to 30, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi was invited to visit six countries in the Middle East – Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman. At a time when Western countries are vigorously smearing China's Xinjiang policy, what is the significance of this visit? The Observer Network interviewed former Ambassador to Iraq Hua Liming in particular.
【Interview/Observer Network Liu Hui】
Observer Network: After Biden took office, the United States and Europe joined forces again, and China and Russia faced pressure. Some people commented that the Middle East region is a big power game field, and the relationship between China and the Middle East will step onto a new level during this visit to the six countries in the Middle East. How do you see what this visit means for China?
Hua Liming: Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to six countries in the Middle East coincides with the China-US Alaska meeting, which is an important historical node at the March 18 meeting in Alaska. For the first time in the history of Sino-US relations, China looks at the United States in a straight face, and this meeting has had a far-reaching impact on the international community.
Judging from the current situation, Sino-US relations have come to a new node, the United States wants to develop its "circle of friends" in the world, we are also developing our "circle of friends", the "circle of friends" of the United States is mainly in Europe and NATO, such as US Secretary of State Blinken attending the NATO foreign ministers' meeting. Our "circle of friends" is mainly in developing countries, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to six countries in the Middle East shows that the diplomatic status of the Middle East in China has risen significantly.
In the past 70s, there were constant wars and disputes in the Middle East, and China's time was relatively hasty, and its relations with Middle Eastern countries were not very close. Since the 1990s, China has become a big buyer of Oil in the Middle East, especially in the 21st century, China has become the world's second largest economy and the largest trading partner in the Middle East, and China's relations with Middle Eastern countries have undergone great changes.
Therefore, the Attitude of Middle Eastern countries towards China has changed in the political and economic aspects, especially on the Xinjiang issue, Western countries have collectively spread rumors and sanctioned China, but Middle East countries do not agree with the western countries' statements, and sympathize with and support China on the Xinjiang issue.
This time, Foreign Minister Wang Yi went to the Middle East countries and the Gulf countries, and I think it is a very important diplomatic visit for China to expand our "circle of friends" in the Middle East.
Observer Network: During this visit, Foreign Minister Wang Yi put forward a five-point initiative to achieve security and stability in the Middle East, namely, advocating mutual respect, upholding fairness and justice, realizing nuclear non-proliferation, jointly building collective security, and accelerating development cooperation. What projects and cooperation are likely to be carried out between China and Middle Eastern countries during this trip? What are the highlights?
Hua Liming: The Middle East is a region full of contradictions and conflicts, some regional wars are still going on, like the war between Syria and Yemen is not over, and many countries are hostile, such as Israel and Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iran, and the relations between Iran and some Arab countries.
However, China's relations with these countries are friendly, and China has a superior political position in the Middle East, so China is most qualified to propose collective security in the Middle East.
60% of China's energy imports come from the Middle East, and establishing peaceful and stable relations in the Middle East is very important to us and a very important strategic goal that China seeks in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia is an important strategic partner of China in the Middle East, the largest oil producer in the Middle East, and China is also its largest export target. In the past, the United States imported 20% of its oil from Saudi Arabia, but now the United States basically does not import Saudi oil, so the relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia is not as close as before.
Saudi Foreign Minister sent off at the airport. Image source: The Paper
As the largest Arab country and also a Muslim country, Saudi Arabia put Saudi Arabia in the first stop, and I think this is also a matter of course.
The second stop is Turkey, which straddles Europe and Asia, is also an ally of the United States, a member of NATO, and its relations with the United States and Russia are very delicate.
Turkey plays a key role in the issue of faith, because Uyghur and Turkish are both Turkic languages, Turkey has traditionally had a sympathy and support for the Uighurs, and the Erdogan government is still relatively friendly to China on the Xinjiang issue.
As the only anti-American country in the Middle East, Foreign Minister Wang Yi jointly signed a comprehensive cooperation plan between China and Iran during this meeting.
Bahrain and Oman are two small countries in the Gulf region, and Bahrain's diplomacy is more dependent on Saudi Arabia.
Observer Network: Recently, Xinjiang-related topics have been widely discussed, and the lies of European and American countries that have created rumors and slandered and reversed black and white have also been continuously exposed. In fact, last year, envoys and diplomats from 20 Arab countries and the Arab League in China visited Xinjiang and made very positive comments on Xinjiang's economic, social and human rights undertakings. Want to hear your opinion on what has happened in Xinjiang recently?
Hua Liming: After arab envoys and diplomats in China visited Xinjiang in person in October last year, they realized that what China is really doing in Xinjiang is counter-terrorism, and China's counter-terrorism in Xinjiang has been very successful. Now Xinjiang has such a good situation and development, thanks to Xinjiang's counter-terrorism work.
Therefore, Arab countries and Muslim countries will support China, while Western countries just want to use the Xinjiang issue as an excuse to exert pressure on China.
In fact, they also know that the actual situation is not what they reported, the entire Western media portrayal of Xinjiang is reversed black and white, and these Arab countries can take a more just position and stand with China, which shows that they are indeed very friendly to China. Second, they do understand that China is really fighting terrorism, which is not the same as the United States' counter-terrorism.
The foreign ministers of the two countries signed the China-Iran comprehensive cooperation plan. Image source: China News Network
Observer Network: On the Iranian nuclear issue, in 2018, former US President Trump announced that the United States withdrew from the Iranian nuclear agreement, and after Biden took office, he wanted to restart negotiations on the Iranian nuclear agreement.
Hua Liming: After Biden took office, he wanted to correct some of the wrong practices of the Trump era, including the WITHDRAWAL of the United States from the Iranian nuclear agreement. Biden has made it clear that the United States will return to the JCPOA.
In 2015, under the leadership of the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany, the Iranian nuclear agreement was reached, and Iran stopped its nuclear program in exchange for the united states and the West to cancel unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction measures against Iran. In 2018, former President Trump announced the launch of the Iranian nuclear agreement by the United States and imposed the highest level of economic sanctions on Iran.
Iran's core demand now is that the United States wants to return to the Iranian nuclear agreement, and the first condition is to lift all unilateral sanctions on Iran.
Trump has dug a lot of holes for the Biden administration, including that the United States can lift sanctions, but it needs some additional conditions, such as requiring Iran to cancel its missile program and stop supporting Hungary and Yemen.
The Iranian side believes that the sanctions should be lifted first, and the two sides have been struggling with this issue, so they are now stuck in this place. China's position is to welcome the United States back to the Iranian nuclear agreement, and in accordance with the Iranian nuclear agreement to lift sanctions on Iran, China does not approve of the United States to continue to maintain sanctions on Iran.
Observer Network: The United States has increased sanctions against Turkey and Iran, what kind of game will China and the United States play in the Middle East? You mentioned earlier that China is more suitable than Europe and the United States to propose this kind of multilateral dialogue platform construction, what are China's political advantages in the Middle East?
Hua Liming: Politically and militarily, the United States is still the hegemon of the Middle East, in addition to Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and other Gulf countries are all military allies of the United States, and the United States will not leave the Middle East.
Compared with the United States, Europe, Russia and other countries, China has never been involved in contradictions between countries in the Middle East, and China and all Middle Eastern countries are friendly, and these big countries cannot do this.
Needless to say, the United States supports Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Iran. The EU did not withdraw from the Iranian nuclear agreement on the surface, but in the negotiations on the Iranian nuclear agreement, he proposed to restore the Iranian nuclear agreement, and asked Saudi Arabia and Israel to participate, which turned out to be 5+1, and Iran will certainly not accept it.
Moreover, during the US sanctions on Iran, the EU actually participated in the sanctions, so the relationship between the EU and Iran was not good. China has not followed the United States and Western countries in sanctioning Iran, and has maintained normal and friendly relations with Iran, which is China's biggest political advantage in the Middle East.
China can not only use its advantages to develop our economic and trade relations and energy relations, but also provide its own direct and concrete contributions to the settlement of the Middle East and the establishment of peace and stability.
In addition to political advantages, China is now the second largest economy, China is the Arab countries, the Middle East countries of the largest trading partner, energy and economic trade these two determine the Middle East countries will become more and more dependent on China's market. For these Arab countries, they are unwilling to choose sides between China and the United States, and they are not willing to join the United States in opposing China, the most obvious example of which is the xinjiang and Hong Kong issues, which they oppose the United States.
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