China may seek greater role in Gaza conflict after Arab summit - analysis

Beijing is hosting a China-Arab States Cooperation Forum. Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Tunisia’s President Kais Saied, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa are in attendance.

This is an important gathering underpinning that China is seeking to play a larger role in the Middle East. This could have ramifications for the current Israeli war in Gaza, which Israeli officials believe may continue for another seven months. China and the Arab states may have a different view.

According to a report at Arab News, “Chinese President Xi Jinping called for an international peace conference focused on the Israel-Hamas war and promised more humanitarian aid as he opened a summit with leaders of the Arab states Thursday in Beijing.”

Xi said in a statement that “as war is raging, causing tremendous suffering, justice cannot be absent and the two-state solution cannot be shaken.”

Beijing wants to improve cooperation with Arab states. It is focusing on “trade, clean energy, space exploration, and health care.”

Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Tunisia, and other states attended the meetings in China.

China and the Arab world

Arab News was very clear on what was happening in China now. “Beijing and the Arab states back the Palestinians in the conflict, where Israel is facing growing international condemnation after the strike in the southern Gaza city of Rafah in which at least 45 were killed over the weekend,” the report said.

China has been increasingly vocal on the Palestinian issue. It also has a new 25-year deal with Iran and has been working more closely with the Gulf states in recent years.

Further, China, which backs Russia, is seeking to play a potential role in the Ukraine war and possibly host some kind of peace discussion there with the Russians. These are important moves for China in the new world order that Iran wanted to see emerging from the October 7 massacre in the region.

“China wants to present itself as an alternative to the West,” the report at Arab News said, quoting Maria Papageorgiou, a lecturer in politics and international relations at the University of Exeter who discussed the topic.

This is the clear trend emerging from the meetings in China. El-Sisi attended the meetings there and also met Xi. “Investments between Egypt and China amounted to around $14 billion in 2023, compared to $16.6 billion in 2022,” the report said. Iranian-backed Houthi attacks, however, have harmed vessels that transit through the Red Sea, impacting Egypt. This means the war in Gaza impacts Egypt on several fronts.

This is the tenth session of the China-Arab Cooperation Forum. The UAE has a keen interest in these meetings and Al-Ain media in the Emirates stressed Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s role at the event. He said that the meeting comes at a time when the world needs unity and solidarity.

“He stressed that the UAE believes that concerted efforts, cooperation, and joint international actions are the best way to advance our countries, meet the aspirations of our peoples, and ensure a prosperous future for future generations,” Al-Ain noted.

The UAE leader also said that joint Arab-Chinese action could help achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and secure the flow of humanitarian aid as well. This could lead to peace in the region.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian leader stressed that he did not want to see Palestinians displaced from Gaza. “I call on the international community to work without delay on the immediate and sustainable access of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, to put an end to the Israeli state of siege,” Al-Ain reported him saying. El-Sisi added, “I reiterate that there is no way to reach peace and regional stability... except through a comprehensive treatment of the Palestinian issue.”