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OPINION | SISU scholars share view on Chinese President Xi's Mideast visit


21 January 2016 | By Zhang Hui | Global Times

  • President Xi's Mideast Visit

    Chinese President Xi Jinping with Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Jan. 19, 2016. | Xinhua

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hinese President Xi Jinping is set to begin his first visit to the Middle East on Tuesday since taking office, as experts said the trip highlights China's balanced foreign policy of not taking sides in a region that has been split by sectarian conflicts.

The six-day trip will take him to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran and is set to begin on Tuesday and end on Sunday.

The trip will bear rich fruit in energy, infrastructure, trade and investment facilitation, nuclear energy, space and satellite technology and new energy, Deputy Foreign Minister Zhang Ming said on Monday at a press briefing in Beijing.

The Middle East is China's last untouched major region in terms of its big power diplomacy, and completing the trip represents that China's diplomacy will realize full coverage of major regions in the world, Liu Zhongmin, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University (SISU), told the Global Times.

The trip's first leg will bring Xi to Riyadh on Tuesday. Xi's visit to Saudi Arabia will also mark the first time a Chinese leader has visited the country since King Salman acceded to the throne last year.

During his visit to Saudi Arabia, Xi will hold meetings with representatives of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, according to Zhang.

China is the only country among major powers that has kept friendly relations with all nations in the Middle East, and Xi's visit to both Saudi Arabia and Iran amid the region's sectarian conflicts is a result of China's balanced policy of not taking sides and not allowing bilateral relations to be affected by regional conflicts, experts said.

No major leaders have visited Saudi Arabia and Iran in one trip, at least in the recent past, Wu Bingbing, head of the Institute of Arabic-Islamic Culture Studies at Peking University, told the Global Times.

Tensions between Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia and Shiite-dominated Iran have escalated since Saudi authorities executed Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr on January 2. Saudi Arabia announced on January 3 that it would break off diplomatic ties with Iran after its embassy in Tehran was attacked.

Peace and development

During his visit to Egypt, Xi will make a speech on China's policy and propositions on promoting peace and development in the Middle East at the headquarters of the Arab League in Cairo, Zhang said.

Zhang said that China has maintained thorough communication with countries in the Middle East through various channels in a bid to ease regional tensions.

Regarding comments that Xi's visit to the Middle East is intended to fill the strategic void left by the US, Chinese experts said that it was inappropriate and over interpreted.

Xi's visit conforms to China's own practical needs and foreign policy. China's purpose is to strengthen bilateral ties and has no intention of replacing the US in the region, Liu said.

Saudi Arabia, as China's largest crude oil supplier in the region, has been reforming its economic structure due to pressure from the sustained decline of oil prices, while Iran has opened more development opportunities after the West lifted sanctions on the country.

Xi's trip will offer more concrete opportunities, particularly for the Belt and Road initiative. Apart from cooperation on energy, China is expected to discuss ways to link the initiative with the three countries' respective development plans, experts have said.

The Middle East is the best example of China's 'Belt and Road' initiative, as both the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road pass through the region, Zhu Weilie, director at the Institute of Middle East Studies at Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times.

With populous countries like Egypt and Iran, China should focus on infrastructure such as high-speed rail and telecommunications, as well as production capacity cooperation that can generate more jobs for local communities, while with Saudi Arabia, China is expected to strengthen cooperation on new energy and satellite technology, Zhu said.

Arab countries as a whole have become China's biggest supplier of crude oil and the seventh-biggest trading partner. China is the biggest trading partner of nine Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia. China currently has more than 1 million residents living in the Middle East, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Original title: Xi kicks off Mideast visit - Trip highlights China’s balanced foreign policy: experts (Global Times)

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Press Contact

SISU News Center, Office of Communications and Public Affairs

Tel : +86 (21) 3537 2378

Email : news@shisu.edu.cn

Address :550 Dalian Road (W), Shanghai 200083, China

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