Preservation, Prosperity, and Power in China's Middle East Foreign Policy

Year 2019, Volume: 15 Issue: 29, 79 - 113, 15.04.2019

Emine Akçadağ Alagöz

https://doi.org/10.17752/guvenlikstrtj.554035

Abstract

This article seeks to examine the motives behind China’s active foreign policy toward the Middle East, using Fei-Ling Wang’s incentive structure of preservation (of its own political power), (economic)  prosperity and (greater international) power. It argues that the political preservation of the Chinese Communist Party regime, China’s economic prosperity and China’s pursuit of power are three basic motives that shape China’s relations with Middle Eastern countries. On the preservation front, continued economic growth, Beijing’s policy of non-interference, and the importance of territorial integrity influence Sino-Middle Eastern relations. These relations reflect also China’s prosperity interests since the Middle East provides China with the bulk of its oil imports and a market for manufactured products. Finally, China’s relations with this region play an important role in its power calculations.

Keywords

China, Power, Preservation, Middle East, Prosperity

İç İstikrar, Refah ve Güç Hedefleri Ekseninde Çin’in Orta Doğu Politikası

Abstract

Bu makale Çin’in Orta Doğu’ya yönelik aktif dış politikasının ardındaki etmenleri, Fei-Ling Wang’ın siyasi yapıyı korumayı, refahı sağlamayı ve güç sahibi olmayı teşvik eden özgün yapı yaklaşımını kullanarak ortaya koymayı amaçlamaktadır. Çin’in Orta Doğu ülkeleriyle olan ilişkilerini şekillendiren üç temel faktörün; Çin Komünist Partisi önderliğindeki mevcut siyasal rejimi korumak, ülkenin ekonomik refahını sağlamak ve Çin’in gücünü artırmak olduğu ileri sürülmektedir. Siyasi yapıyı koruma çerçevesinde, ekonomik büyümeyi sürdürülebilir kılma, iç işlerine müdahale etmeme ilkesine bağlılık ve toprak bütünlüğünü muhafaza hususları, Çin-Orta Doğu ilişkilerinde ön plandadır. Orta Doğu, Çin’in petrol ihtiyacını ve ürettiği mallar için pazar ihtiyacını karşıladığından, söz konusu ilişkiler Çin’in refahı sağlama hedefiyle de doğrudan bağlantılıdır. Son olarak, Çin’in bu bölgeyle olan ilişkileri Pekin’in güç hesapları açısından da önem arz etmektedir.

Keywords

Çin, Güç, İç istikrarı koruma, Orta Doğu, Refah

References

• ALTERMAN, Jon B., “China’s Soft Power in the Middle East”, Carola McGiffert (ed.), Chinese Soft Power and Its Implications for the United States, CSIS, Washington, 2009, 63-76.
• CHRISTENSEN, Thomas J., “Chinese Realpolitik”, Guoli Liu (ed.), Chinese Foreign Policy in Transition, Transaction Publishers, New York, 2004, 59-71.
• CORDESMAN, Anthony H. and Ahmed S. Hashim, Iraq: Sanctions and Beyond, Westview Press, Boulder, 1997.
• KANG, David C., China Rising: Peace, Power, and Order in East Asia, Columbia University Press, Columbia, 2009.
• MCCLORY, Jonathan (ed.), The Soft Power 30: A Ranking of Soft Power 2017, USC Center on Public Diplomacy, Portland, 2017.
• MEIDAN, Michal, “China and the Middle East: Moving beyond energy trade”, Giulia C Romano, Jean-Francois Meglio (ed.), China's Energy Security: A Multidimensional Perspective, Routledge, NewYork, 2016.
• RAMO, Joshua Cooper, The Beijing Consensus, The Foreign Policy Center, London, 2004.
• SHAMBAUGH, David, China goes Global: the Partial Power, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013.
• SINGH, Michael, “Chinese Policy in the Middle East in the Wake of the Arab Uprisings”, Niv Horesh (ed.), Towards Well-Oiled Relations? China’s Presence in the Middle East Following the Arab Spring, Palgrave, London, 2016, 162-179.
• WANG, Fei-Ling, “Beijing’s Incentive Structure: The Pursuit of Preservation, Prosperity, and Power”, Yong Deng and Fei-Ling Wang (eds), China Rising: Power and Motivation in Chinese Foreign Policy, Rowman and Littlefield, Boulder, 2005, 19-49.
• WILLIAMSON, John, What Washington Means by Policy Reform: Latin American Adjustment: How Much Has Happened?, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington, 1990.
• “300 Chinese are fighting alongside ISIS in Iraq, Syria”, New York Post, December 15, 2014.
• “China says foreign direct investment up 7.9% in 2017”, China Daily, January 16, 2018.
• “China’s One Belt One Road Initiative and the Gulf Pearl Chain”, China Daily, June 5, 2017.
• “Exclusive: China offers to buy 5 percent of Saudi Aramco directly”, Reuters, October 16, 2017.
• “Growth of middle class means major changes for China”, China Daily, October 2, 2017.
• “Iran, China Agree on $6.5B Oil Refinery Project”, Payvand Iran News, November 25, 2009.
• “Yeni küresel dağılım: Çin niçin dünyanın en güçlü ordusunu kuruyor?”, Sputnik News, 19 Ekim 2017.
• BABONES, Salvatore, “China Is Sitting On $3 Trillion In Currency Reserves, But Is That Enough?”, Forbes, May 24, 2018.
• CALLAHAN, William A., “National Insecurities: Humiliation, Salvation, and Chinese Nationalism”, Alternatives, No.29, 2004, 199-218.
• CHEN, Mo, “Exploring Economic Relations between China and the GCC States”, Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, Vol:5, No.4, 2011, 88-105.
• DORRAJ, Manochehr and Carrie L. Currier, “Lubricated with Oil: Iran-China Relations in a Changing World”, Middle East Policy, Vol: 15, No. 2, 2008, 66-80.
• EVRON, Yoram, “China’s diplomatic initiatives in the Middle East: the quest for a great power role in the region”, International Relations, Vol: 31, No.2, 2017, 125-144.
• GHARFOURI, Mahmoud, “China’s Policy in the Middle East,” Middle East Policy, Vol:16, No.2, 2009, 80-92.
• GILL, Bates, “Chinese Arms Exports to Iran”, Middle East Review of International Affairs, Vol: 2, No. 2, May 1998, 55-70.
• JIAN, Wang, “One Belt One Road”: A Vision for the Future of China-Middle East Relations”, AlJazeera Center for Studies, May 9, 2017.
• JIANMIN, Wu, “One Belt and One Road, Asia’s Stability and Prosperity”, RSIS Distinguished Public Lecture, March 12, 2015.
• LIANGXIANG, Jin, “Energy First: China and the Middle East”, Middle East Quarterly, Vol: 12, No. 2, Spring 2005.
• MEARSHEIMER, John J., “China’s Unpeaceful Rise”, Current History, April 2006, 160-163.
• OOSTERVELD, Willem, China in the Middle East: Testing the Waters, Linking the Lan”, The Diplomat, August 25, 2017.
• PAN, Guang, “China’s Success in the Middle East”, Middle East Quarterly, Vol:4, No.4, 1997.
• SHICHOR, Yitzhak, “Mountains out of Molehills: Arms Transfers in Sino-Middle Eastern Relations”, Middle East Review of International Affairs, Vol: 4 No. 3, September 2000, pp. 27-39.
• SUN, Uking, “Egypt scholar favors China's development model”, China Daily, March 24, 2014.
• ŞARDAN, Tolga, “Kuşak ve Yol’un Şincan’a Katkısı”, Milliyet, 25 Aralık 2017.
• TIEZZI, Shannon, “China at Geneva II: Beijing’s Interest in Syria”, The Diplomat, January 22, 2014.
• URQUHART, Conal “US acts over Israeli arms sales to China”, The Guardian, June 13, 2005.
• WANG, Fei-Ling, “Preservation, Prosperity and Power: What motivates China’s foreign policy?”, Journal of Contemporary China, Vol:14, No.45, November 2005, 669-694.
• YAN, Xuetong, “From Keeping a Low Profile to Striving for Achievement”, The Chinese Journal of International Politics, Vol:7, No.2, 2014, 153-184.
• ZHIMIN, Chen, “Nationalism, Internationalism and Chinese Foreign Policy”, Journal of Contemporary China, Vol:14, No. 42, 2005, 35-53.
• “China is largest foreign investor in Middle East”, Middle East Monitor, July 24, 2017, https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170724-china-is-largest-foreign-investor-in-middle-east/ (Erişim Tarihi: 20.04.2018).
• AL-SUDAIRI, Mohammed Turki, “China in the Eyes of the Saudi Media”, Gulf Research Center, February 2013, https://www.ictsd.org/ sites/default/files/downloads/2013/04/china-in-the-eyes-of-the-saudi-media1.pdf (Erişim tarihi: 01.05.2018).
• BAKER, Melinda Beth, “Beyond Oil? Chinese National Interests and the Sino-Iranian Relationship”, Georgetown University, Washington, April 2010, p.8, https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/bitstream/ handle/10822/553441/bakermelinda.pdf;sequence=1 (Erişim Tarihi: 09.04.2018).
• CHEN, James, “The Emergence of China in the Middle East”, INSS, Strategic Forum, No.271, p.3, http://inss.ndu.edu/Portals/68/Docu ments/stratforum/SF-271.pdf (Erişim Tarihi: 20.04.2018).
• DORSEY, James, “China and the Middle East: Venturing into the Maelstrom”, RSIS Working Paper, No.296, 2016, https://www.rsis.edu.sg/ wp-content/uploads/2016/03/WP296.pdf (Erişim Tarihi: 30.04.2018).
• GOTTLIEB, Jhanna “The Beijing Consensus: A Threat of Our Own Creation,” CIMSEC, April 22, 2017, http://cimsec.org/beijing-consensus -threat-creation/32178 (Erişim tarihi: 21.12.2018).
• International Monetary Fund, Direction of Trade Statistics. http://www.imf.org/en/Data (Erişim Tarihi: 12.04.2018).
• MATTHEWS, Stephen, “China’s New Energy Focus: Strategic Partnership with Saudi Arabia”, Rice University, 2005, https://www.bakerinstitute.org/files/764/ (Erişim Tarihi 10.04.2018).
• Pew Research Center, Gobal Indicators Database, “Opinion of China”, http://www.pewglobal.org/database/indicator/24/group/6/ (Erişim Tarihi: 15.05.2018).
• Pew Research Center, Gobal Indicators Database, “Opinion of the United States”, http://www.pewglobal.org/database/indicator/1/ group/6/ (Erişim Tarihi: 15.05.2018).
• SAWAHEL, Wagdy, “Seeking Soft Power, China Expands Activities in Arab Higher Education”, Al-Fanar Media, 2016, http://www.al-fanarmedia.org/2016/02/seeking-soft-power-chinaexpands-activities-in-arab-higer (Erişim Tarihi: 10.05.2018).
• SWAINE, Michael and Ashley J. Tellis, “Interpreting China’s Grand Strategy”, Rand, 2000, p. 16, http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_ reports/MR1121(Erişim Tarihi: 05.04.2018).
• The World Factbook, “China”, https://www.cia.gov/library/ publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html (Erişim Tarihi: 09.04.2018).
• XIAOLIN, Ma, “Islamic Caliphate in Iraq: What Can China Do?”, ThinkINchina, 22 October 2014, http://www.thinkinchina.asia/38-event-report/ (Erişim Tarihi: 05.05.2018).
• XIAOSHENG, Gong, “Hotspots in the Middle East and China’s Middle East Diplomacy”, Chinese’s People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs, 2017, http://www.cpifa.org/en/cms/item/view?table=book& id=230 (Erişim Tarihi: 20.04.2018).
• ALAGÖZ, Emine Akçadağ, “Kalpleri ve Zihinleri Kazanma Aracı Olarak Kamu Diplomasisi ve Çin Örneği”, VII. Uludağ Uluslararası İlişkiler Konferansı, Bildiri Kitabı, 21-22 Ekim 2015, Bursa, 86-103.
• KARACA, Kutay, “Çin Etkisinde Yeni Bir Çağ mı? Türkiye-Çin İlişkileri Özelinde Bir Değerlendirme”, TESAM II. Sosyal Bilimler Kongresi, Bildiri Kitabı, 1-2 Kasım 2017, Tesam Kitapları, Bursa, 2018, 193-207.