China Urges Larger-Scale Gaza Peace Conference And The Establishment For A Palestinian State

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry jointly meet the press after their talks in Cairo, Egypt, Jan 14, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]  

Reuters: China urges larger-scale Gaza peace conference as conflict escalates 

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for a larger, more authoritative Israeli-Palestinian peace conference and a timetable to implement a two-state solution as the Gaza conflict escalated and the Red Sea became a new flash point. 

Speaking to reporters after talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Cairo on Sunday, Wang said the international community should "listen" carefully to the legitimate concerns in the Middle East. 

"China calls for the convening of a larger-scale, more authoritative and more effective international peace conference, the formulation of a specific timetable and road map for the implementation of the 'two-state solution', and support for the prompt resumption of Israel-Palestinian peace talks," Wang said. 

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China Urges Larger-Scale Gaza Peace Conference And The Establishment For A Palestinian State  

China, Egypt call for comprehensive, lasting truce in Gaza -- China Daily  

Chinese FM calls for int'l peace conference to settle Palestinian issue -- Xinhua  

Visiting Egypt, China’s FM calls for Palestinian state, Israel-Hamas ceasefire -- Times of Israel

Tomorrow's Emergency BRICS Summit Will Call For A Ceasefire In The Israel - Hamas War

Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets a delegation of foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic countries in Beijing on November 20, 2023. Photo: Chinese Foreign Ministry  

Global Times: Beijing hosts delegation, urges immediate cease-fire in Gaza  

Arab-Islamic delegation’s first stop in Beijing underscores trust, highlighting China’s constructive role in Middle East  

China urged an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, expressed opposition to any forced displacement and relocation of Palestinian civilians and emphasized that any arrangement concerning the future and destiny of the Palestinian people must have their consent, Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi told visiting Arab and Islamic foreign ministers on Monday. 

Apart from talks with Arab and Islamic countries, China is also keeping communication with other permanent members of the UN Security Council on the Palestinian-Israeli issue.  

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WNU Editor: BRICS will be having an emergency meeting on the Israel - Hamas war tomorrow .... Putin to take part in emergency BRICS summit – Kremlin (RT).

China Deploys Warships To The Middle East Over Fears That The Israel - Hamas War Could Spread

 

SCMP: China stationed up to 6 warships in Middle East over the past week: reports 

* The arrival of a replacement escort group in the Gulf region meant two advanced 052D destroyers have been stationed there at a time of heightened tensions 

* The PLA's 44th task force left Muscat for an unspecified location on Saturday after taking part in a joint exercise with the Omani navy 

Up to six Chinese warships have been operating in the Middle East over the past week, according to reports. 

The 44th naval escort task force has been involved in routine operations in the area since May and last week spent several days on a visit to Oman, including a joint exercise with the country's navy, according to the Chinese defence ministry website.  

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WNU Editor: China is heavily dependent on Middle Eastern oil. This deployment will probably be followed by another one if the war starts to get out of control. 

China Deploys Warships To The Middle East  

China deploys six warships to Middle East over fears Israel crisis could spark WW3 -- Express  

Israel-Hamas war: China deploys warships to region amid fears of a wider conflict -- Times of India 

Israel War: 6 Chinese Navy Warships Stationed In The Middle East Amid US Navy’s Heavy Presence In The Region -- EurAsian Times

China Moves To Replace The U.S. As A Security Guarantor With The Petro-Monarchies

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman welcomed Xi Jinping to Riyadh (YouTube screen grab).  

Thomas Lifson, American Thinker: China is moving in to replace the US with Gulf oil monarchies 

It's hard to overstate the potential impact of a move underway that — thanks to Biden's catastrophic diplomacy — could result in China replacing the U.S. as a security guarantor with the petro-monarchies that control so much of the world's oil reserves. 

Bloomberg reports:  

Oil-rich gulf monarchies are leveraging their wealth to deepen ties with China amid anxiety about the future of their longstanding security partnership with the US. 

Seven months after President Xi Jinping participated in the first China-Gulf summit in Riyadh, economic exchanges between the world's second largest economy and nations like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been accelerating — moving well beyond crude purchases where Beijing has been dominant for years.  

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WNU Editor: This Bloomberg article is a must read .... Middle Eastern Wealth Flows to China Amid Anxiety About US Ties (Bloomberg).

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Jointly Announced A “Strategic Partnership” Between China And Palestine

 

AP: China establishes 'strategic partnership' with Palestinian Authority following Mahmoud Abbas' Beijing visit 

China's President Xi Jinping called the partnership an 'important milestone in the history of bilateral relations' 

China said Wednesday that it established a "strategic partnership" with the Palestinian Authority during a visit to Beijing by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. 

The announcement marked another step in China’s campaign to gain political and economic influence in the Middle East, where it is competing with the United States. 

China is seeking energy resources and markets for its military and civilian exports while also promoting its version of authoritarian government as part of joint challenge with Russia to the Western-led democratic world order.  

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WNU Editor: China is making its presence felt in the Middle East. 

 Chinese President Xi Jinping and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Jointly Announced A “Strategic Partnership” Between China And Palestine  

China, Palestine upgrade ties to ‘milestone’ strategic partnership -- Global Times  

China, Palestine agree to establish strategic partnership -- CGTN  

Palestinian leader Abbas ends China trip after backing Beijing’s crackdown on Muslim minorities -- AP  

China's Xi Jinping backs 'just cause' of Palestinian statehood -- Al Jazeera  

Having given up on the US, Palestinians look to China to mediate peace with Israel -- Times Of Israel  

China's Xi hosts Abbas, vows support for Palestinian state on 1967 borders -- Al-Monitor

China Becoming A Major Arms Supplier To The Middle East

A Chinese unmanned aerial vehicle is presented during a military parade at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, on 1 October 2019 (AFP)  

SCMP: China said to be negotiating arms deals with Saudi Arabia and Egypt 

* The Middle Eastern countries seek to diversify weapons supply amid Ukraine war and tensions with Washington, according to intelligence service 

* Riyadh eyes air defence systems and drones as part of possible yuan-based deal while Cairo plans to buy J-10C fighter jets, report says 

China is reportedly in talks with Saudi Arabia and Egypt for major arms deals as the countries seek to diversify their weapons supplies to become less reliant on the United States and Russia. 

Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) is currently in talks with China North Industries Group Corporation (Norinco), a state-owned defence company, to buy weapons ranging from reconnaissance drones to air defence systems, according to Tactical Report, a Beirut-based intelligence service focused on the Middle East. 

Weapons involved in the potential deal include the Sky Saker FX80 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the CR500 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAV, the Cruise Dragon 5 and 10 - two types of loitering munitions, better known as suicide drones - and the HQ-17AE short-range air defence (SHORAD) system, the service reported last week.  

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Update: China said to be negotiating yuan-based arms deals with Saudi Arabia and Egypt (Pakistan Defense)  

WNU Editor: China is doing what the US did for decades. We will buy your oil, but you must buy our weapons to balance our trade.

As The U.S. Military Pulls Back From The Middle East, Will China Step In?

Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, the top U.S. commander for the Middle East, speaks to the media after arriving in Syria to meet with U.S. and allied commanders and troops, Friday, May 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Lolita C. Baldor)  

The Hill: Top general: Russia, China will look to expand influence in Middle East as US pulls back 

Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of the U.S. Central Command, said that as the U.S. reduces its military footprint in the Middle East, competing world powers Russia and China would seek to expand their influence in the region. 

“The Middle East writ broadly is an area of intense competition between the great powers. And I think that as we adjust our posture in the region, Russia and China will be looking very closely to see if a vacuum opens that they can exploit,” McKenzie told reporters, according to The Associated Press.

“I think they see the United States shifting posture to look at other parts of the world and they sense there may be an opportunity there," the general added.  

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Update #1: US general: As US scales back in Mideast, China may step in -- AP  

Update #2: As US pulls back in MENA, China, Russia may step in: General -- Al Jazeera  

WNU Editor: The Chinese (and Russians) are already there.

China Just Made The Oil Deal Of A Lifetime In Iraq

Simon Watkins, OilPrice.com: China Just Got Handed The Oil Deal Of A Lifetime

China and Russia are sewing up whatever oil and gas fields and accompanying infrastructure that they can in Iran and Iraq, as Iraq tries to markedly up the pace of development on the fields it shares with Iran. Iraq only wants the U.S. for the Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP) because ExxonMobil is the only firm that can do it properly and within a reasonable timeframe. ExxonMobil’s participation, though, is far from guaranteed.

Of all the key shared fields - Azadegan (Iran side)/Majnoon (Iraq side), Azar/Badra, Yadavaran/Sinbad, and Dehloran/Abu Ghurab, Naft Shahr/Khorramshahr – the first of these has been a priority for Iran since it was severely flooded in March. It is this field that was the focus of the announcement last week that two major new drilling contracts have been signed: one with China’s Hilong Oil Service & Engineering Company to drill 80 wells at a cost of US$54 million and the other with the Iraq Drilling Company to drill 43 wells at a cost of US$255 million.

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WNU Editor: Both Russia and China in the past year have been trying to sew up every possible oil/gas energy deal in Iraq and Iran, and they have been successful in doing so. But the big winner has been China in Iraq . But this is all contingent on the Middle East being a peaceful place to do business, which if history is any indication, will be difficult to do.