China’s Approach to Palestine and the Future of the Global Order
How China chooses to respond to developments in Palestine will affect both regional politics and China's place in the global system.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, China on June 14, 2023. Photo by Anadolu Images.
T
he Israeli-Palestinian issue is a critical test for China, a candidate for the leadership of the new world. The steps that China, which has strengthened its diplomatic influence with the Iran-Saudi Arabia reconciliation, will take with regard to developments in Palestine will affect both tensions in the region and China’s position in the global system.
The war between Israel and Hamas, which began on October 7, soon turned into a campaign of mass murder and displacement of Palestinian civilians. As developments unfold before the entire world, everyone is closely watching the position of global actors vis-à-vis the ongoing events. While the developments in Palestine are a test for the countries that defend the current global order, especially the United States, they are also a test for the countries that produce high rhetoric about changing the global system and implementing parallel strategies.
From the very beginning of the conflict, the world watched to see what solutions the countries of the second group will propose to de-escalate tensions and stop the humanitarian crisis; which side they will support in the conflict; and in what direction they will make statements to influence the international community and their own citizens. The People’s Republic of China, which belongs to the group of countries seeking to change the world order, stands out as an actor that is drawing a unique road map on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, which is causing ever-growing divergences across the world, China is trying to convey this position to the international community by by embedding it into its international relations narrative.
The “Chinese Century” in the Middle East
Before analyzing China’s position on the events in Palestine, it is important to examine the extent to which the tensions between Israel and Hamas have affected China. If we look at the atmosphere in the Middle East just before the flare-up, China’s influence was quite strong. During this process, which started in the last quarter of 2022 and was defined as the “opening up of the Middle East,” Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Saudi Arabia, met with many leaders in the region, and had the opportunity to convey Chinese narratives in person.
As a result, the Iran-Saudi Arabia reconciliation, which was watched by the whole world, was achieved, polishing China’s mediation image and adding points to its diplomatic score. At the same time, the Chinese Foreign Ministry presented the international community with versions of China’s prescriptions for the governance of the global system tailored to the conflicts in the Middle East, particularly Afghanistan and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
While the countries in the region embraced the approaching “Chinese Century,” queued up to sign agreements with China in many fields, especially technology, trade, artificial intelligence, and green transformation, and organized visits to China, the freezing of disputes among the countries of the region, in parallel with the softening atmosphere, had a positive impact on China-Israel relations. Furthermore, the relatively stable image of the Middle East, reflected in China’s Belt and Road investments, enabled China to make plans for the region.
These developments, which served the strategic interests of both China and the Middle East countries in general, were replaced by a completely different framework with Hamas’s Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. Since then, the countries of the region and China, like all actors in the global system, have adopted a position of watching developments closely.
China’s position on the Palestinian issue
In the early stages of the escalation between Israel and Hamas, China adopted a position calling for restraint and remained relatively in the background. China refrained from choosing between the parties and adopted a stance that declared the need for the peaceful settlement of disputes, emphasizing that it opposes all kinds of activities targeting civilians. It is important to note that in the past, China has proposed a three-point solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
During the visit of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to China in June 2023, the following recommendations were made by President Xi:
- The fundamental solution to the Palestinian conflict lies in the establishment of an independent and fully sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
- It is essential to address the economic and social needs of Palestine, and for the international community to increase development and humanitarian assistance to Palestine.
- It is important that the peace talks move in the right direction. The historic status quo of the holy sites in Jerusalem must be respected, and extreme and inflammatory words and actions must be avoided.
A larger, more authoritative and more effective international peace conference should be convened to create the conditions for the resumption of peace talks and contribute to concrete efforts to help Palestine and Israel live in peace. In my opinion, China is willing to play a positive role in helping Palestine achieve internal reconciliation and promote peace talks.
China’s basic stance on the Palestinian issue is based on the above three points. In this context, China has launched a diplomatic offensive to play a role in resolving the crisis, especially since the escalation of violence from the Israeli side. Accordingly, it actively participated in the UN meetings and, after assuming the rotating presidency, organized a UN session on Palestine and the peaceful governance of the global system titled “Shared Development Promotes Lasting Peace.”
It also contributed to the adoption of Resolution 2712 on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict at the UN on November 15, the first Security Council resolution since October at a time of heightened tensions. In November, Xi held a summit with U.S. President Biden on the sidelines of the APEC summit, and included the Palestinian issue on his agenda for both the bilateral meeting and the APEC summit.
Shortly after President Xi’s return from San Francisco, where APEC was held, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that a delegation including Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha would visit China on November 20-21 as the first stop of global mediation talks.
The fact that this extraordinary ministerial committee, appointed by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League to conduct diplomatic negotiations on Gaza, chose to visit China as the first stop of their planned visit to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council has been touted by Beijing as proof of the international community’s confidence in their impartiality. The delegation met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and determined that there was consensus with China on numerous objectives/aims/topics, particularly on ending the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and on a two-state solution.
At the same time, BRICS, one of the platforms where the Global South makes its voice heard, organized the “Special Summit on the Palestinian-Israeli Question” in November, in which all members except India participated at the level of heads of state. Delivering a speech titled “Realising Ceasefire, Achieving Lasting Peace and Security” at the summit, President Xi listed an updated three-point list of recommendations, including (1) the immediate cessation of hostilities by the parties, (2) ensuring the safe and smooth passage of humanitarian aid, and (3) preventing the escalation of the conflict. He reiterated that the main solution to breaking the cycle of conflict between Palestine and Israel is the implementation of the two-state solution.
In the same speech, Xi emphasized that “there will be no sustainable peace and security in the Middle East without resolving the Palestinian issue,” while referring to the low impact of the previous peace conference and stressing the urgent need to convene a more effective and authoritative international peace conference.
In addition to China’s diplomatic steps towards developments in Palestine, it has also provided economic assistance to alleviate the effects of the humanitarian crisis in the region. According to data released in Xi’s speech at BRICS, China’s assistance includes $2 million provided through the Palestinian National Authority and UN agencies, and RMB 15 million (approximately $2 million) worth of emergency humanitarian supplies, such as food and medicine, to Gaza with Egypt’s assistance.
All Eyes on China
The Palestinian issue, which has turned into a humanitarian catastrophe with Israel’s attacks on Gaza, is one of the most important turning points in history in terms of the impact and the destructiveness of the tensions on the global system. In this process, the question of which side of history the actors in the international system will be on poses serious challenges and the potential consequences will be passed on to future generations.
The People’s Republic of China has been one of the most vocal critics of the current U.S.-led global order, while at the same time communicating to the international community that it aspires to a multipolar world order that includes integrative effects in the name of equality, win-win cooperation, peaceful coexistence, and a shared future. The Chinese-style world order is becoming increasingly influential in the discourses supported by underdeveloped and developing countries in particular, in the hope of achieving a more just world. Undoubtedly, this interest in a Chinese-style world order, which has spread from Latin America to Africa and the Middle East to Asia, is not only a philosophical ideal but also an economic lifeline, with infrastructure investments, economic subsidies, and all-round development incentives filling the air around such discourses.
The increasingly positive image of the People’s Republic of China in the underdeveloped and developing world, the so-called Global South, and its positioning as a rival to the United States in the “great power struggle” has led to it being cast as one of the potential poles of the new world order. The international community now looks to China for a code of conduct in the crises that arise in the global system, just as it looks to the U.S. on almost every problem—or at least demands to hear its proposal for a solution.
The Israeli-Palestinian issue is a critical test for China as a candidate for the leadership of the new world. The steps to be taken by China, which has won the appreciation of the international community and strengthened its diplomatic influence with the Iran-Saudi Arabia reconciliation, will affect the tensions in the region and its position in the global system. Moving forward with diplomatic and economic moves, China is already developing discourses in line with the audience it wants to represent, and its steps towards solving the problem will be closely watched.
