ABSTRACT
Since the Han Dynasty, the Middle East has been an important neighbor of
China. Economic and cultural ties were first established along the Silk Road
and reached a high point during the seven ocean voyages headed by Zheng
He, a Chinese Muslim eunuch during the Ming Dynasty. The modern era of
China’s relations with the Middle East began after the People’s Republic of
China was founded in October 1949. Even before this point, the PalestineIsrael conflict, the main root of conflict in the Middle East, had been
ongoing for decades. China, with numerous domestic and external problems
to face, was rarely free enough to concern itself with the Middle East, which
is geographically and psychologically remote from the Chinese perspective.
But soon, political hostility and economic embargo against China by major
Western powers made the Chinese extend their international space into new
realms. The Non-Alignment Movement of Bandung in 1955 offered a
chance for Chinese leaders to shake hands with Gamar Abdul Nasser, and other Arab leaders from Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and
Syria. Except for Egypt, the other Arab countries showed little interest in
China because of their special traditional ties with the Western countries.1
But the similar colonized background, the self-identification as ‘‘Third
World’’ countries, and the common antipathy against the Western ‘‘oppres-
sors’’ produced a big enough stage for China and those radical Middle East
countries to find close approaches and positions on many international
affairs. China has expressed pro-Palestinian and pro-Arab positions, but that policy has been limited mainly to rhetoric during disputes, as Israel has
maintained its hospitality to China after it first gained independence. This
true intermediate position has produced both negative and positive results
for China, which regained its permanent member seat in the Security
Council of UN after 1972. Based on the UN and its Security Council deci-
sions or statements in recent decades, there has been a strong enough Chi-
nese voice in approval or disapproval on the Palestine affairs, but China’s
statements were of little concern to the Israelis or the Arab states. That was why there was no presence of Chinese diplomats in the Camp of David
Accords, the Middle East Peace Conference in Madrid, or the recent Road
Map initiative. All these seem to indicate that China could not influence the
Middle East countries before, now, and even in future. Nevertheless, this
kind of non-behavior policy based on traditional Taoism and Confucianism
has created for China an international reputation as a ‘‘fair judge’’ and built
a solid path for its involvement in Middle Eastern affairs. In addition, a vast
population of Muslims, scattered mostly in Northwestern China, has been another unavoidable consideration in expression of China’s position con-
cerning Middle Eastern events.2
