Why Xi Jinping's meeting with leaders of UAE, Egypt, Bahrain, Tunisia in China matters

Leaders from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Tunisia, will visit China this week, according to Beijing’s foreign ministry on Monday. The delegation will include Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Bahrain’s King Hamad, Tunisian President Kais Saied, and UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

From 28 May 28 to 1 June, these leaders will “pay state visits to China and attend the opening ceremony of the 10th Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum,” stated foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.

What is the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum?

Established two decades ago, in 2004, during a visit to Cairo by then-President Hu Jintao, the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum is a platform that connects China with 22 members of the League of Arab States, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Palestine, Kuwait, and Qatar.

Under this mechanism, the foreign ministers of the 23 countries convene every two years to discuss collaboration in politics, economy, and security. In recent years, senior officials have also met periodically to explore deeper cooperation in energy, technology, and public health.

The upcoming forum, scheduled for Thursday, will be attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Mauritanian Foreign Minister Mohamed Salem Ould Merzouk will co-chair the conference.

The event will see the participation of foreign ministers or representatives from the Arab states and the secretary-general of the League of Arab States, according to the ministry.

Why is China looking to mediate the war in Gaza?

Speaking at a briefing in Beijing on Monday morning, China’s Foreign Vice-Minister Deng Li stated that Xi Jinping would hold individual meetings with the four state leaders to “exchange views on bilateral ties and regional and international issues of common concern.”

This meetings occur as China aims to mediate the conflict between Hamas and Israel, and the ongoing war in Gaza . Historically, China has supported the Palestinian cause and advocated for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Xi Jinping has also called for an “international peace conference” to address the ongoing violence.

“The goal is to end the Gaza conflict as soon as possible and realise peace, and at the same time promote the international community’s determination to implement the ’two-state solution’ with greater determination and more concrete actions to ultimately achieve long-term peace and stability in the Middle East region,” Deng said.

In recent years, China has emerged as an increasingly influential force in West Asia, as the United States’ focus has shifted to the Indo-Pacific. The region provides much of the oil that China requires and serves as a major trading partner for many countries in the area, even though the US remains the predominant military and diplomatic power.

Beijing maintains strong relations with all key states—Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Israel, and Iran, viewing the region as both a crucial economic partner and a significant geopolitical objective. Last year, Beijing’s growing influence was highlighted when it brokered a peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

In June 2023, Xi Jinping welcomed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Beijing for a state visit and offered to mediate in the Israel-Palestine conflict. In a joint statement following the visit, Xi emphasised that the Palestinian issue has remained unresolved for over half a century, causing significant suffering for the Palestinian people, and stressed that justice must be served as soon as possible.

He called for a “large-scale, more authoritative, and more influential international peace conference” to address the issue. Subsequently, Xi also invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit China, and Netanyahu expressed his intention to do so . However, the visit has yet to materialise.

Also Read: How Chinese mediation into Hamas-Fatah unity talks is part of Beijing’s long-term plan

It is evident that Beijing has gained substantial geopolitical influence in the region through its economic ties and various projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Notably, three of its West Asian partners—Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE—are also military partners of the US. Each of these countries has its own reasons for fostering ties with China.

One significant advantage for China is its ability to influence Iran, which supports Hamas, and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Will China look to seal a China-Persian Gulf FTA?

China may also be aiming to finalise a long-sought free trade agreement (FTA) with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) during the meetings. Negotiations between China and the GCC, which includes the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman—all members of the League of Arab States—began as early as 2004.

In January, Chen Weiqing, then China’s top envoy to Saudi Arabia, stated that about 90 per cent of the terms of the free trade agreement had been agreed upon. However, two months later, Reuters reported that talks had stalled due to Saudi concerns that inexpensive Chinese products might hinder Riyadh’s ambitions to become an industrial powerhouse.

Both the GCC countries and China are among the world’s largest economies. The combined GDP of the GCC countries exceeds $2.4 trillion, while China’s GDP surpasses $17.7 trillion, according to the GCC’s General Secretariat.

Trade between the GCC countries and China is robust, with Beijing being the largest trading partner of the Gulf nations. In 2022, bilateral trade volume between the GCC countries and China exceeded $315 billion.

Also Read: How EU-India FTA, IMEC are fundamental to saving Europe from Chinese dominance

The trade primarily involves energy and its derivatives, machinery, electrical appliances, and automatic equipment. Gulf countries export over 80 per cent of their energy to China, while their imports of machinery and electrical appliances from China account for more than 35 per cent.

With inputs from agencies