"80% of young people believe that China is an 'ally'," in the EU | China | region
On August 4th, the French website "The Key to the Middle East" published an article titled "The Middle East, China's New Land of Expansion: Partnership Diplomacy" by geopolitical expert Emile Bouvier. The article is compiled as follows:
In 2020, China replaced the European Union as the largest trading partner of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries; In the same year, the trade volume between China and Saudi Arabia exceeded the total trade volume between the United States, the European Union, and Saudi Arabia. Beijing has established strategic partnerships with more than ten Middle Eastern countries.
In fact, as the United States reduces its security commitments and loses influence in the Middle East, China is strengthening its diplomatic, military, and economic influence in the region. Due to economic reasons, more and more countries in the region are aligning their own interests with those of China, but successive US governments tend to refer to this evolution as a reflection of China's desire to "dominate the world". The actual situation is exactly the opposite, indicating that Middle Eastern countries have shown unquestionable enthusiasm for Beijing's increasingly significant presence in the region.
A promotional screen about the "China Gulf Cooperation Council Summit" was shot on the streets of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on December 7, 2022.
Starting from the first decade of this century, China's economic and diplomatic influence began to grow exponentially and take on various forms. The leaders of China and the Middle East countries have signed many strategic partnership agreements in the past decade, opening the door for China's large-scale investment, including large-scale port and railway infrastructure construction within the framework of the "the Belt and Road" initiative.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, China has been committed to weaving a huge network of partners around the world, and the Middle East region is no exception. There is almost no country or international organization in the region that does not maintain friendly partnerships with Beijing.
Starting from this century, Beijing has increased its presence in the region through two mechanisms: the Forum on China Africa Cooperation and the Forum on China Arab Cooperation.
At previous forums on China Africa Cooperation and China Arab Cooperation, China has repeatedly emphasized the "Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence" and "South South Cooperation".
The bilateral partnership between China and Middle Eastern countries is crucial and almost ubiquitous. China has also established partnerships with international organizations in the Middle East or with countries in the region, such as the Arab League, African Union, Gulf Cooperation Council, Arab Maghreb Union, and Islamic Cooperation Organization.
Specifically, what can these strategic partnerships bring? Firstly, they bring hope for strengthening economic cooperation, which may lead to free trade agreements such as the one currently being negotiated between Beijing and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Secondly, strengthening economic cooperation will consolidate political mutual benefit between the two sides, just as China facilitated the diplomatic normalization agreement reached between Tehran and Riyadh in March this year. The strategy of enhancing China's image has had significant results in the region: a survey conducted in 2023 among 45000 young people aged 18 to 24 living in the Middle East showed that 80% of respondents believe that China is their country's "ally".
This bilateral or multilateral partnership policy has attracted more and more countries willing to strengthen their relations with China. At least it can be said that the surge in interest among Middle Eastern countries in the BRICS countries is a testament to the issue, and the attractiveness of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to countries in the region is also evident.
