May 2018

The US and Israel were the main focus of the Chinese media in May. While the commentary pertaining to US policy was negative as usual, even Israel received criticism (a rare event in the Chinese discourse). The other articles reviewed in this issue of the Bulletin provide a more general update about the evolution of China's relations with the Mediterranean region.

Both Chinese scholars, like Sun Degang from the Shanghai International Studies University, and journalists condemned the relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem. They saw the event as destined to push the region "into the abyss" by destroying any potential progress in the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. Occasionally, even a nostalgic attitude towards the former Obama administration is expressed in the articles published. Trump's decision to move the embassy is explained as an attempt to reconfigure the US presence in the region in order to reinvigorate the relations with core allies, such as Israel, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, and definitively abandon the role of balancer in regional affairs. The Middle East is now in the "post-Islamic State" era, and the US is consistently shifting its strategy from fighting terrorism to readjusting its claims to regional supremacy against Russia, Iran, and Syria. Unfortunately, as Chinese commentators note, this evolution is not beneficial to regional stability. Meanwhile, while a Xinhua article praised Israel for its capacity to combine civil-military innovation to strengthen both its economy and armed forces, Ma Xiaolin from the Beijing Foreign University called for Israel to stop acting like America’s “puppet” and abandon the siege mentality behind the killing of many Palestinians. Otherwise, Israel will never be safe, and the region will never be at peace. As the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians worsens, Turkey’s vocal defense of the Palestinians has been met with skepticism from Beijing as one of the many inconsistencies of Turkish foreign policy.

Now we turn to China. When asked what the Chinese government plans to do if Chinese companies are caught in the crossfire between the US and Iran over the US’s withdrawal from the JCPA, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs limited his answer to a generic condemnation of the US’s decision. Meanwhile, China imported 8,9% more oil between January and April than during the same period of the year before. The situation in the Middle East only seems to be worsening, and as Li Yan from Oilchem stated, these imports are going to become more expensive. China is also strengthening its relations with key partners like Oman, the UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. On the economic side, the construction of the China-UAE Industrial Capacity Cooperation Industrial Park in the Khalifa Port Free Trade Zone of Abu Dhabi begun. The total planned surface will cover roughly 10 square kilometers, and will be both constructed and managed by the Jiangsu Province Overseas Cooperation Investment Company (JOCIC). JOCIC, a state-owned enterprise chosen by the National Development and Reform Commission to carry out the project in the UAE, has already proven its capabilities in developing the Suzhou Industrial Zone, Jiangning Economic-Technological Development Zone, and Haimen Economic-Technological Development Zone in China. On the diplomatic side, while China and Oman announced the establishment of a strategic partnership, a delegation from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region headed by the Deputy Secretary of the China Overseas Friendship Association visited Iran, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia to meet with local government officialsand discuss religious freedom in China, the progress of economic development in the Xinjiang province, and anti-terrorism policies. While in Egypt and Iran, the delegation visited several universities and the ministries of foreign affairs of the two countries. They also met with officials from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Muslim Youth League. Also, Li Jie, an expert on military affairs, confirmed to the Global Times that the new pier built on the Chinese military base in Djibouti is both long and deep enough to host ships the size of the Liaoning aircraft carrier if necessary.

In the Balkan Peninsula, China is also strengthening its presence. In addition to the construction of logistic infrastructures within Croatia, Chen Xinguang from CASS writes that the cooperation between China and Serbia is also progressing. Trade between the two countries, especially Chinese exports to Serbia, totaled USD 140 million in January and February 2018. 5000 new jobs have been created since the Hebei Iron & Steel Group bought the Hesteel Group in 2016, and a new industrial park has been built in Smederevo to further attract Chinese investments. From this perspective, Serbia has already received one fifth of China's total investments (USD 10 billion) in the sixteen member countries of the 16+1 platform.

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