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2023 | Buch

China’s Engagement with the Islamic Nations

A Clash or Collaboration of Modern Civilisation?

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This book provides a critical insight into China's evolving socio-cultural relations with Islamic countries in the face of growing geopolitical uncertainty. It considers both the historical and socioeconomic aspects of China-Islamic countries relations to present a balanced analysis of the effectiveness of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) plan and the current and future evolution of cooperation. The book also sheds new light of the impact on individual economic sectors, considering both the micro- and macro-effects on various stakeholders as the global community navigates an increasingly precarious power struggle between dominant world powers. The book presents contributions from a variety of fields to provide a multi-faceted breakdown of the challenges that remain for the myriad of relationships in the years to come.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter
China and the Arab Region: Dynamics of Engagement
Abstract
China’s presence in the western parts of Asia and the Mediterranean has grown considerably since the early 2000s and as its presence and interests have grown so too has its engagement with the key actors in the Arab region—the group of countries which dominate the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) area. China features strongly in the three critical realms of economic relations, diplomatic-security conditions, and political exchanges of the Arab region. The clear shape of China’s footprint arguably appeared following the establishment of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in 2004, which has deepened with the reach of the Belt and Road Initiative to the Arab region. These developments have prompted Beijing to issue its first Arab Policy Paper in 2016, which is clearly designed to shape relations between the People’s Republic and the diverse group of Arab states. This chapter will analyse the presence and role of China in the Arab region, with a particular focus on China’s relations with the Gulf Arab monarchies and the republics of Egypt, Libya, and Syria. These case studies will be used to shed light on exchanges between the two sides with regard to economic relations, diplomatic-security interactions, as well as the impact of China’s policies/role on politics in this region.
A. Ehteshami, B. Houghton, A. Rasheed, D. Wang

Theoretical Overview of China’s Strategic Relations with the Islamic Nations

Frontmatter
China’s Soft Power in the Middle East
Abstract
China in 2013 had announced the commencement of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and this grand project has steadily become one of the largest infrastructure development initiatives globally. Through its grand BRI plans, China aims to strengthen itself economically and reshape the international balance of power. For this, China is utilizing the broader idea of soft power which implies to all elements outside the security realm, including tools of investment and aid. In fact, this soft power tactic is serving as an effective instrument for China to vigorously engage with various Middle Eastern nations. China, through the BRI’s China-Central Asia-West Asia Corridor, is developing various infrastructure and construction projects in and around the partner nations of this region. And for this China appears to be pursuing a multidimensional strategy that incorporates soft power complementing its broader military modernization and force projection efforts to secure its energy requirements. It should be noted that one of the significant pre-requisites for the utilization of soft power requires expanding economic ties, which eventually leads to the deepening of soft power relationships. However, the volatile bilateral and multilateral relations including various other politico-strategic issues have so far impeded the progress of the BRI in this region. In this context, this paper will try to comprehend two major questions while analysing China’s soft power promotion in the Middle Eastern region. Firstly, by analysing China’s BRI plans and identifying the targets of China’s soft power endeavours in the Middle East, what is the message that Beijing is trying to project globally as well as in the volatile Middle Eastern region? Secondly, it must be assessed if China’s soft power endeavours have achieved anything in terms of changing the China’s perception in the region. The paper will discuss the basic definitions of soft power provided by various international thinkers and philosophers in order to understand the Chinese understanding of such an approach. It will also try to assess whether China’s use of the BRI is not an immediate, tangible, or causal connection rather a mere linkage formed by the BRI which allows the Chinese influence to spread in Middle East. The paper will also briefly assess whether China’s soft power initiatives as part of its BRI plans are linked to countering the American influence and presence in this region and how their progress has been thus far in accordance with Beijing’s initial objectives.
Anu Sharma
Iran-China Comparing Foreign Policy: Pragmatists Versus Revolutionists
Abstract
Since the rise to power of Deng Xiaoping and his foreign policy architect, Zhou Enlai, almost coincides with the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the comparison of their foreign policy is considered significant. It is highly valuable because the two countries have adopted different approaches in their foreign policy since four decades ago. While Beijing has used the foreign policy as a means of economic development, Iranian foreign policy has been an obstacle to progress and economic growth. Moreover, in China, domestic affairs and economic priorities conduct foreign relations, and in return, Iran’s foreign policy achievements contribute to covering domestic challenges and tangible problems. More importantly, while Iran’s foreign policy priorities are constructed by strategic and security issues, China’s foreign policy serves economic growth and development. The article aims to address this matter, how the country that once was the poorest country in the Third World changes into the world’s second-largest economy, and Iran which once had an economy equal to South Korea is grappling with abundant financial and economic difficulties. Accordingly, the research intends to compare the foreign policy of Iran and China and display how different insights into foreign policy affect the development of a country.
Mohammad Reza Chitsazian
Coercion or Choice: Opportunities and Challenges of a 25-Year Agreement for Iran and China
Abstract
In 2021, Iran and China signed the agreement to expand their cooperation in the areas of energy, technology, infrastructure, transportation, and ports development. The agreement was met with sharp reactions from some political factions inside Iran and Tehran’s opposition abroad. Some groups even described the contract as a betrayal of Iran’s national interests. In contrast, what was heard from China was complete satisfaction. This article addresses the impacts of the agreement on the future of bilateral and multilateral relations between the two countries, its short-term and long-term benefits for China, the challenges facing China to implement it, its political-economic opportunities, and the challenges it presents for Iran. The main hypothesis of the paper is that Iran had no viable alternative. This agreement may help Iran’s economy in the short term, but it will be harmful in the long run. In contrast, the deal will help China mount a pre-emptive strike against a containment policy by engaging in new economic partnerships with its neighbors through the Belt and Road Initiative.
Ali Bagheri Dolatabadi
China and Iran Relations in the Context of the Changing World Order
Abstract
China has been the Islamic Republic of Iran’s most significant external supporter from the outset. Since the American withdrawal from the atomic deal (JCPOA) in 2018, China has consistently criticised the US unilateral sanctions but has simultaneously put its investments on hold and significantly reduced its trade with Iran. China is obviously important for Iran at times of sanctions and of conflict with the US. This chapter focuses on why Iran matters to China and identifies three areas: energy, economy, and the geopolitical location of Iran. These make Iran important in China’s global development policy, where the Belt and Road initiative is at the kernel of geoeconomic and geopolitical strategy. Both China and Iran criticise the worldview of the Western liberal order and argue for an alternative. China has increasingly promoted itself as a civilisational state with a long history of a different worldview to that of the liberal order and argues for a multipolar world order based on other civilisational worldviews, including that of Iran. Recent developments, with the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the Iranian support to Russia, the continued turmoil inside Iran, and the failure to restore the atomic deal, are big challenges to Iran–China relations.
Lars Erslev Andersen
Iran’s Pragmatic Approach in Accommodating China’s Belt and Road Initiative: A Determinant for Future Closer Bilateral Cooperation
Abstract
Decades of Iran’s diplomatic tug-of-war with the United States and the sustained US embargo vis-a-vis that country has generally created dual impacts on the Islamic Republic for several years now: One can be seen in terms of how the embargo has effected the Iranian economy while the other side can be seen through the flourishing economic and political ties between Iran and China. Given China’s role as a rising global power, Iran’s willingness to accommodate China’s Belt and Road Initiative may not be seen as the best choice but the most practical and pragmatic option to secure Iran’s national economic and political interests in the presence of external pressures from the United States as well as from several members of the international community. Controversies surrounding the Iranian nuclear program as well as Iran’s staunch foreign policy on anti-imperialism and non-intervention by extra-regional players since the early years of the Islamic Republic remain the critical factors that constrained Iran from fully developing its economic and political relations, particularly with the United States. With China’s Belt and Road Initiative offering an alternative and “no-strings attached” strategic option for Iran, the future bilateral relations are expected to be productive and mutually beneficial to both nations. As such, this article will seek to elucidate the following research questions: How has China’s Belt and Road Initiative secured Iran’s national economic and political interests? How are the solidifying bilateral relations benefitting China as a rising challenger of the United States on the global stage? Finally, what prospects will the bilateral relations bring to each country going forward?
Henelito A. Sevilla Jr
China’s Hedged Economic Diplomacy in Saudi Arabia and Iran: A Strategy of Risk Mitigation
Abstract
The Persian Gulf is a key area for the regional implementation of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the Middle East. Persian Gulf countries, in particular Iran and Saudi Arabia, are major suppliers of energy to China. Geographically, they are also located at the nexus of the maritime trade route between Asia and Europe. Building strategic partnerships with Saudi Arabia (in 2008) and Iran (in March 2021) is thus a key part of Beijing’s strategy under Xi Jinping to use the BRI to enhance China’s comprehensive economic and energy security. From the point of view of Iran and Saudi Arabia, both need China as an economic partner: Iran because it has few other allies and is ostracised by the US and other Western nations; and Saudi Arabia because China is the largest importer of Saudi oil and is a significant source of investment in the Saudi Vision 2030 projects. At the same time, Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia are bitter regional rivals engaged in a struggle for regional hegemony. Accordingly, China’s Persian Gulf strategy of economic diplomacy through BRI investments and economic partnerships can, therefore, be categorised as strategic hedging: cultivating both partners without alienating or over-committing to either.
Jeremy Garlick

Understanding the BRI through its Strengths and Limitations

Frontmatter
Sino-Gulf Cooperation Council Partnership in a New Era of Great Power Competition
Abstract
This chapter analyzes the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) partnership with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states in a new era of great power competition. It explores how the GCC countries’ integration into the BRI framework is influenced by this new competition. For the GCC countries, an escalation in competition between the US and the PRC could lead to reshaping alliances and coalitions in the Persian Gulf, reducing their diplomatic maneuvers to the lowest levels, abandoning neutrality, and joining one of the two camps against the other. Nevertheless, the Gulf monarchies continue to view their ties with Washington as a core pillar of their national security. They are determined to maintain the security partnership with the US while strengthening economic and technological partnerships with China. Therefore, the great power competition complicates their position and pressures them to side with one of the two powers.
Mordechai Chaziza
China and Central Asian Countries’ Cooperation in the Sphere of Security: Religious Aspects and Beyond
Abstract
Significant changes are taking place in the existing rules of international relations. Following the withdrawal of the United States and allied troops from Afghanistan, Central Asian states have been forced to change their foreign policy since the Taliban took control over Afghanistan. It is impossible to accurately predict the future of the current regional situation. Until the Taliban came to power, none of the countries have established official relations with the Taliban, which has been recognized as a terrorist organization. In this context, it is important for the Central Asian states to define new joint responsibilities for relations with countries familiar to them, such as the Russian Federation or the People’s Republic of China. The main purpose of this article is to identify the difficulties and common interests of cooperation between China and Central Asian countries in the field of religious security and to identify mutually beneficial concepts. It is very important for the People’s Republic of China to maintain security and stability in the Central Asian region. Maintaining stability in the region is necessary not only in terms of economic interests, but also in order not to disturb the internal peace of the state. The presence of Muslim peoples in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, including unresolved opposition to the central government, the establishment of the Islamic State of Afghanistan too close to its sphere of influence and their historical, ethnic and, most importantly, religious unity are real challenges for Beijing. Chinese leaders intend to use the Central Asian region as a “buffer” to prevent religious extremism and radical movements from entering their territory. This is one of the main goals in the field of religious security, both in bilateral and in multilateral relations within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. This position has both advantages and disadvantages for the Central Asian states. The research project consists of three main chapters, which in turn have subchapters. First chapter is devoted to the new approach for theoretical base of studying problem. Second is dedicated to bilateral relations between Central Asian countries and China. Last chapter describes multilateral relations in the field of religious security. In the conclusion, we will identify root of problem, obstacles and misunderstandings and we will attempt to give the new conception and approaches to solve or to regulate this issue.
Duman Zhekenov
Collateral Damage in Sino-Arabic Cooperation: Assessing Middle Eastern and North African Silence and Complicity in the Uyghur Crisis
Abstract
In his opening address at the 2014 China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, Xi Jinping explained that Sino-Arab cooperation should promote “the Silk Road Spirit” and further the realisation of “Arab revitalisation”. However, by 2018/2019 it appeared the Sino-Arabic Silk Road Spirit had increasingly become defined by Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) deference to China, most notably marked by their complicity and/or deafening silence on the unfolding mass detention of the Muslim minorities across the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). This chapter examines the links between the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and MENA silence over the mass detention of Uyghurs in XUAR. It also examines the complicit role some MENA countries—namely Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—have played in forcibly repatriating Uyghurs to China and wider official support provided to China by MENA states at the United Nations Human Rights Council. The chapter argues that Beijing’s promised dream of “Arab revitalisation”, which is directly tied to the BRI, is part of the “rejuvenation” rhetoric of the BRI. This rhetoric has seen MENA states support Beijing’s policies towards the Uyghurs, despite the shared religious links between the majority populations across MENA, as well as educational, business and familial connections. The support for Beijing from MENA states has enabled, emboldened and attempted to legitimise Beijing’s persecution of the Uyghurs. As a result, the Uyghurs have become collateral damage in Sino-Arabic cooperation and the economic dealings MENA states have with China.
Anna Hayes
The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region—The Bridge Between Islam and Orientalism
Abstract
Since the announcement of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the influence of Chinese regional policy has spread considerably across the globe, from oranges to oil in order to meet the insatiable demands for economic growth. Unlike other regions, China’s efforts to collaborate with the Islamic nations have been widely embraced across the region. Under the banner of the ‘Made in China 2025’ initiative, Xi’s approach towards the Islamic countries has been welcomed on the promise of mutual progress, which has led to the gradual expansion of Chinese presence in the bloc. Under this development plan, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region has rapidly transformed into a bridge that links China to the Islamic nations. This economic and ethnic development transition throughout the last 40 years will be examined, alongside the efforts of the Chinese government as they look to utilise the Uyghur ethnic community as a means to sustain the relationship between China and the Islamic nations during a period of increased strategic fragility.
Young-Chan Kim
China, the Arab World, and Silk Road Diplomacy: Towards a New World Order
Abstract
The relationship between China and the Arab world is age-old. China and the Arabian nations have been linked with each other by both land and the maritime Silk Road since the last 2000 years. The long history of friendship, cooperation, peace, and openness has enabled the People’s Republic of China to establish cordial friendships and diplomatic ties with at least 22 Arab states. Nearly 75 years of diplomatic and political relations have further deepened China-Arab relations in other areas of cooperation also. Beijing has set up a strategic dialogue mechanism with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) through its comprehensive strategic partnership with eight of the central Arab countries. Today, China is the biggest importer of crude oil from the Arab region and is the 7th biggest overall trading partner. China’s recent Belt and Road Initiative also known as the One Belt, One Road (OBOR), was presented as one of the most ambitious economic and foreign policy efforts of President Xi Jinping. It promised a vast network of infrastructure building, economic development, and constructions of connectivity facilities throughout China’s neighbourhood running from Beijing to Asia, Europe, and Africa, with the Arab world at the centre. In the process of pursuing the Silk Road in the Arab world, China has proposed an initiative of establishing a “1 + 2 + 3” cooperation pattern with the Arab countries by taking energy cooperation as the core, infrastructure construction, and trade and investment facilitation as the two wings, and three high and new technology fields of nuclear energy, space satellite capabilities and new forms of energy generation as the three breakthroughs, and industrial capacity cooperation serving as the foundation. Undoubtedly, the transcontinental and transoceanic Silk Road networks of China are steadily reshaping the world’s political and economic landscape by promoting each other's advantages and potentials, trade and investment to achieve common progress and development. In lieu of this, the larger question which this chapter would like to focus on is how the Arab world is seeing this Silk Road Project of China which many claim to be Beijing’s plan to redesign the underlying geopolitical structure. Whether China is likely to respond to the people’s needs and their cultural aspirations will also be called into question, with the chapter concluding with an examination of whether this will merely be an extension of the existing drive towards globalisation.
Ramakrushna Pradhan
Metadaten
Titel
China’s Engagement with the Islamic Nations
herausgegeben von
Young-Chan Kim
Copyright-Jahr
2023
Electronic ISBN
978-3-031-31042-3
Print ISBN
978-3-031-31041-6
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31042-3

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