China’s Palestine Policy

China Brief ^ | March 4, 2009 | Chris Zambelis

[ihatedemocrats]

The geopolitics of China’s rise and its implications for the Arab world and wider Middle East is a topic for serious debate. Currently, China’s Middle East strategy revolves around shoring up its energy security and tapping consumer markets and investment opportunities for Chinese businesses. Given China’s status as the world’s fastest growing energy consumer and third-largest net importer of oil coupled with the global financial crisis, energy and commercial concerns will continue to dominate China’s interaction with the Middle East in the foreseeable future [1]. Yet as China’s economic clout grows, Beijing is also keen on leveraging its economic power to enhance its diplomatic influence on the international stage. To bolster its great-power aspirations and its position in the Middle East—a region where it played a peripheral role throughout the Cold War—Beijing’s diplomacy is forging closer relations with key players in the region and, in doing so, is challenging the status quo.

[ihatedemocrats]

I would have preferred "Hamastan" to "Palestine". Nonetheless, it's good to know where China stands -- which any sane person could guess easily.

In Mandarin, "Palestine" is referred to as "Palastan", which is to say the Chinese themselves view it as just another "-stan" (to be cultivated no doubt). Chinese students are told the same Arabist legends as our own college students about the theft of Middle Eastern land by neo-colonial Zionists.

[piytar]

The difference is if the jihadists screw with China mipuch more, China will erase them with overwhelming manpower or nukes. China’s leadership won’t care about casualties, world opinion or peaceniks, either. It will be brutal and total. It will also probably relegate us to Third World status in their shadow.

Scary times ahead...

[piytar]

mipuch = much sry posting from phone (tiny keyboard)

[SJackson]

Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume

If you'd like to be on or off, please FR mail me.

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[ihatedemocrats]

Islam is being erased in Xinjiang as we write. Children are banned from entering madrassahs until age 18, and good students are removed altogether form the province and made to attend mainstream Chinese schools.

[rmlew]

Israel should recognize Taiwan, as well as occupied Manchuria, East Turkestan, Tibet and call for the end of Chinese occupation of Indian and Mongolian territories.

[ihatedemocrats]

“Israel should recognize Taiwan, as well as occupied Manchuria, East Turkestan, Tibet and call for the end of Chinese occupation of Indian and Mongolian territories.”

That sounds fair.