Are China’s Mediation Opportunities in Middle East Crises Better Than the United States'?

The proposal for Chinese mediation in the Palestinian–Israeli “conflict” may seem strange, in light of the American hegemony of the file, but nothing can be ruled out in light of the significant rise of China.

Official Chinese media recently reported that the Chinese Foreign Ministry told its Israeli and Palestinian counterparts that Beijing is ready to help facilitate peace talks, following its success in normalization between Riyadh and Tehran last month.

The Chinese mediation between Saudi Arabia and Iran was not only an indication of the escalation of the Chinese role in the region, but it is also evidence that Beijing’s chances of mediating in the region’s complex crises are higher and better than the United States, the chronic mediator in resolving the region’s crises.

From the Sahara crisis between Morocco and Algeria, through the Arab–Israeli conflict, to the Renaissance Dam, America and Europe have practiced meditation in the Middle East and North Africa and their surroundings, with no significant results.

In parallel with the great breakthroughs that China has achieved in the files of economy, tech and military power, which made it second in the world after the United States, China is moving forward to play a greater role in the diplomatic arena in an effort to consolidate the policy of a multipolar world, through which it aims to compete with the continuous American hegemony since the end of World War II.

 

Peace Mediator

For many years, China maintained good relations with the Palestinians and the Israelis, but it did not present itself as a mediator to resolve the “conflict” between the two parties.

However, China’s success in bringing Saudi Arabia and Iran closer together motivated it to try to also bring the Palestinians and Israelis closer, in light of the lack of immediate prospects for political negotiations between the two parties.

But “Israel” considers the United States to be the exclusive mediator in its “conflict” with the Palestinians, and has always rejected European, UN and Russian mediation.

After the breakthrough it achieved in its mediation to restore relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and in the midst of its efforts to consolidate its presence in the region and play the role of regional mediator, China is preparing to launch a new diplomatic offensive and crowd out the United States in the Palestinian–Israeli peace file.

According to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua, the Chinese foreign minister told his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts that his country is ready to help facilitate peace talks.

It stated that in “the conversation that the Chinese minister had with his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen on April 17, 2023, encouraged Chinese President Xi Jinping to take steps to resume peace talks.”

Qin Gang pointed out that China is ready to facilitate this matter, repeating the same message in his conversation with the Palestinian Foreign Minister on April 19, 2023, as he emphasized that Beijing supports the resumption of talks as soon as possible.

Gang stressed during the phone conversations that his country seeks to push for peace talks on the basis of implementing the two-state solution.

The offer of Chinese mediation coincides with the escalation of political tensions and protests in “Israel,” and the condemnations by Arab countries of the Israeli Occupation forces and settlers storming al-Aqsa Mosque.

The separate phone calls between Qin Gang and senior Israeli and Palestinian diplomats also come amid Beijing’s recent moves to position itself as a regional mediator, The Guardian reported.

The newspaper also reported that “the Chinese foreign minister told his Israeli counterpart that Beijing is concerned about the current tension between the Israelis and the Palestinians, adding that China has no self-interest in the Palestinian issue, and it hopes the two sides can coexist in peace, to defend regional peace and stability.”

Meanwhile, no official Israeli statement mentioned that China offered mediation for talks with the Palestinians.

In an interview with the American CNBC on March 19, 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied any knowledge of any Chinese initiative to mediate an end to the “conflict” between Israelis and Palestinians.

“We respect China, and we deal with Beijing greatly. But we also know that we have an indispensable alliance with our great friend the United States,” Netanyahu added.

However, he added and called for an increase in U.S. intervention in the Middle East, saying: “I think it is very important for the United States to be clear about its commitments and interference in the Middle East.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the sidelines of the Arab–Chinese summit that took place last December in Riyadh.

At that time, the Chinese President affirmed his country’s support for granting the State of Palestine full membership in the United Nations, and his call for the establishment of an independent and fully sovereign Palestinian state on the borders of June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the basis of the two-state solution.

It is scheduled that the Palestinian President will visit Beijing during the month of June, in response to an invitation extended to him by his Chinese counterpart during the recent meeting in Riyadh.

 

The Palestinian Cause

More than a decade ago, U.S.-brokered peace talks aimed at establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza faltered, with no signs of reviving them.

The talks have been suspended since April 2014, for several reasons, including the refusal of “Israel” to release former detainees and stop settlement activity, according to AFP.

For the first time in a long time, amid rising tensions between Palestinians and Israelis, coinciding with a far-right government taking the reins in “Israel,” the United States sponsored the Aqaba meeting last February, which included Palestinian and Israeli officials, in the presence of an Egyptian and a Jordanian, in order to avoid new acts of violence and to confirm the commitment of all previous agreements.

The Palestinian–Israeli peace talks, which began between the two sides in 1993, are divided into two main parts.

One of them is the Oslo Accords, which provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years to reach a permanent settlement based on United Nations Resolutions 242 and 338, and a part after the end of that period, which includes the following talks and agreements.

With the exception of the Egyptian–Israeli peace agreement, despite its flaws, and the Wadi Araba agreement between Jordan and “Israel” (which did not have major contentious issues), the American peace efforts did not achieve any success.

Rather, Washington’s mediation provided an opportunity for the Israeli Occupation to consolidate its presence and increase its oppression, and if the Palestinians responded spontaneously, Washington attacked and punished them.

America’s mediation in the Arab–Israeli conflict, which has been going on for decades, and it bears the title of sponsor of the peace process, is enough, but the process ended, and the American sponsorship remained a witness to a mediator who possesses the tools of force and does not use them. Because it took the land as its favorite ally.

It is noteworthy that China offered to mediate between “Israel” and Palestine earlier, and during the Israeli aggression on the besieged Gaza Strip in May 2021, it offered a four-point peace proposal.

But China’s new offer comes amid signs that Beijing is getting serious about boosting its political role in the region.

In this regard, the Palestinian journalist Iyad Hamad pointed out in a statement to Al-Estiklal that “the Middle East region is regressing in the American agenda because of the priority that Washington gives to China and the Indo-Pacific region in general, as it is the center of gravity of the new world that is taking shape.”

“However, Washington cannot withdraw from the Middle East without finding a solution to the Palestinian issue or playing the main role in this regard before it is too late,” he added.

“If the United States withdrew and left the conflict pending and gave China the opportunity to resolve it, then it would have lost its historical value and moral discourse that it promoted for decades, and this means in depth the West’s moral downfall,” Mr. Hamad said.

The journalist also explained that “there are many reasons why the chances of Chinese mediation in the Middle East are better than American mediation, including that China is a country that does not have a colonial past and its diplomacy is devoid of discordant ideologies, while America fluctuates between racism and claiming idealism.”

 

Chinese Diplomacy

On the diplomatic front, China has not wasted any time since emerging from the Corona pandemic crisis, as President Xi Jinping met in the past few months with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, and Beijing hosted a number of world leaders, including the President of Brazil, who arrived this week in China, as reported by the BBC on April 14, 2023.

The issue relates to the fact that China is no longer satisfied with the role of an observer of the interactions of the global order, but rather it is participating as an active and influential party in mediation efforts and the search for a settlement to crises, regardless of the success or failure of this role; the failure of Chinese mediation in the Ukraine crisis cannot be seen as evidence of the weakness of Chinese influence or the failure of mediation diplomacy.

Last February, coinciding with the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, China revealed a 12-point proposal to achieve peace between Moscow and Kiev, and sent a high-level envoy to Europe to present political visions to resolve that crisis, which is considered the beginning of an era inaugurated by Beijing to present itself as a new player in the international and regional diplomatic arena.

Chinese mediation efforts were not limited to the Ukrainian file, but extended to the Middle East region, in which the United States has been the main diplomatic mediator for decades.

Last March, China mediated in resolving the crisis between Saudi Arabia and Iran and succeeded in bringing the two parties together at one negotiating table in the capital, Beijing, which is one of the most successful Chinese diplomatic steps in the Middle East, and it was helped by the non-interference of the United States.

In another diplomatic victory, China announced in late March the establishment of diplomatic relations with Honduras, a step that enabled China to distance a new ally from Taiwan, which is no longer recognized by only 13 countries around the world.

At the same time, China has unveiled various proposals for global security and development, in a clear sign that it is courting the global south as it did with the Belt and Road Initiative in order to connect China with the world, by pumping billions into developing countries.

In all cases, observers believe that China tends during the coming period to play active roles in various issues and crises, and could present itself as a mediator in vital crises in Africa and Asia, which is in the interest of international security and stability, regardless of any other benefit.

The establishment of a multipolar world with multiple centers of power is one of the main elements of China’s new strategy. Beijing also considers this an alternative to what it calls American hegemony, according to the BBC.

Western concerns led to the formation of stronger defense alliances such as the Quad and Oaks alliances, and other moves aimed at restricting China’s access to advanced technology.

Last March, Xi Jinping accused Western countries, led by the United States, of oppressing and oppressing China, stressing that this brought unprecedented serious challenges to his country’s development.

At a time when Beijing asserts that a more balanced distribution of power would make the world safer, others see it as an attempt to enhance China’s influence and deceive countries by moving away from the American path.

China frequently sheds light on the failures of U.S. foreign policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, while presenting itself as a country with no blood on its hands, which means that it is a better candidate for world leadership. The common way in Chinese discourse is that Communist China did not occupy other countries and did not participate in proxy wars.

But China annexed the Tibet region in southwestern China and fought a war with Vietnam, and was accused of seizing territory in recent border clashes with India and in maritime disputes with several countries in the South China Sea.

China also views self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province, and has vowed to take it back using force if necessary.