Calabrese, John
(1991)
China and the Middle East (1950-1988): A changing framework of relations.
PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Abstract
This study examines China's relations with the Middle East. Its primary objective is to determine to what extent, and in what ways, China's involvement with the region has evolved. To accomplish this aim I have adopted an historical approach, examining China's relations with the Middle East between 1950 and 1988. The study is therefore subdivided into seven chapters, each of which treats a 'distinctive' period in the history of China's foreign relations since the founding of the PRC in 1949. For purposes of this study, the 'Middle East' is defined as the 'zone of Arab--Israeli confrontation', comprising the states of Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria as well as including the PLO; plus the Persian Gulf, with emphasis on the states of Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Each chapter begins with a discussion of China's relations with the superpowers, and with developing countries. By indicating China's general foreign policy concerns, these sections hopefully shed light on the relative priority China attached to the Middle East in any given period. Thereafter, each chapter provides a country-by-country analysis of China's interaction with the Middle East, highlighting the opportunities and dilemmas that China encountered in the course of such involvement with the region. All chapters end with an 'evaluation' which assesses the nature of China's objectives and efforts as well as the success of its involvement. The chief findings of this study are: (1) that the Middle East has never been politically ir relevant or strategically inconsequential to China; (2) that the number of partners with whom China has engaged, along with the range and scale of Chinese involvement with the region (especially in the economic and military spheres), has expanded; (3) that the alternating pattern of 'involvement' and 'retraction' that once characterised China's interaction with the Middle East has, since the early 1970s, given way to a pattern of 'sustained engagement'. Accordingly, the study recommends attention to the prospects for, and possible ramifications of, China's future interaction with the region.
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