How China's probable endeavour towards solving Israel-Palestine conflict will be a sham

Two broad theories of International Relations —  realism and idealism — are perhaps being used by Beijing simultaneously, to realise its ‘Chinese’ dream. In line with the ongoing scheme of things in the Middle East like the Saudi-Iran rapprochement and peace initiatives in Yemen, The Economic Times  recently reported, “Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been invited to visit Beijing and he may seek Beijing’s assistance to secure a deal with the Saudis.” Netanyahu’s trip to China was initially planned for July month, but as per The Times of Israel, it may take place in October, after the Jewish High Holidays. Very recently, in June 2023, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited the Middle Kingdom, where he backed the One China Policy. And, China, in turn, supported the two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict with East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital. It is widely being understood that China seeks to mediate in the Israel-Palestine conflict. China is already enthusiastic with the recent appraisal it got for bringing two anti-poles of the Islamic world together with Saudi-Iran rapprochement which further facilitated the dialogue to bring ostensible peace to the world’s “largest humanitarian crisis” ongoing in Yemen. It certainly has larger plans for West Asia and North Africa as it tightens its grip across Central Asia and the Indo-Pacific, something we saw in the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit and has been watching in its dealings in the South China Sea, Taiwan Strait, and with economic and strategic interests along ASEAN nations. The only difference is that while it appears to be much more assertive in the East, it appears like an angel with a hallow in the West of Asia. The recent three initiatives of China, namely the  Global Security Initiative, Global Civilization Initiative and the Global Development Initiative, all attach significant importance to the Middle East, centric to which has been the issue of Palestine. It boosts the legitimacy of China when Palestine agrees to participate in Chinese president Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road initiative and the other three aforementioned initiatives. China enjoys goodwill in the region for having a history of not interfering in the domestic politics of the nations concerned. Also, “respect for diversity” and “non-interference” under GCI boost this confidence in a geopolitical arena which has not been very known for upholding Western democratic credentials. Added to this China has also promised its support to the full membership of Palestine in the United Nations knowing how distant this dream is. Will Xi’s magic wand be able to solve the decade-old conflict in the region that has traditionally been a stronghold of the US? Afraid not! Foremostly, Saudi and Iran’s rapprochement was motivated by the realist interests of both nations who deem themselves on an equal footing, plus it was limited in dimensions. Here, clearly, Palestine is a diminishing nation while Israel continues to expand into the territories the former deems belonging to them, furthermore, a solution of “two-state” advocated by China and accepted by Palestine might be an offer of the past for Israel. In an interview with CNN,  Netanyahu said negotiations with Palestinians are no more a priority, and US-led abraham accords and peace with the Arab countries will be given due preference. The notion that China can take advantage of the growing divide between Israel and the US to make roads into the region, might yet be a very far contemplation when it comes to solving the Israel-Palestine conflict. Both US and Israel know why they need each other and would not let China push into the region by laying a red carpet for its arrival, especially considering the role China has been playing to curb the isolation of Iran, the principal enemy of both US and Israel, in the region. Further, Palestinian Authority is still dependent on the US for its economic survival, though it is diversifying its funding by reaching out to China. Moreover, using trade as a peace tool, the apparent Chinese angle cannot bring sufficient giveaways from the Jewish Holy Land, as since 2020 (the year Israel set up an advisory committee to inspect national security aspects of foreign investments—to scan deals with China as a potential national security threat, under the US’ influence), Chinese investments have gone down there. In fact, Israel which is being ruled by a far-right government has very less chance to accommodate Palestinian demands. So, Chinese endeavours might not have a way here. But doesn’t the Dragon already know this? Apparently, China has very realist interests under the veil of very decent-looking liberal interests, and that’s how it uses both the broad aforementioned theories in its agenda setting. The foremost interest of China is to safeguard and expand its investments in the Middle East and hence it seeks to ensure every major power in the region. Next, China aspires to become a global leader in “economic peacemaking” and to prove its credentials chooses a region hitherto dominated by the US. Finally, comes setting up alternatives and alter-narratives as China escalates in the global order. Despite, perhaps knowing the gravity of the situation and the wider range of issues attached to it, Beijing seeks to show its global outreach and acceptance, moreover, it seeks counter Western pressures over issues like Taiwan, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, South China Sea, etc. So while Beijing seeks to show the world that it wants to bring peace through economic development and its outreach to the world is entirely dedicated to the aforesaid purpose, it has a very power-philic realist interest in dominating the world, and its probable efforts to resolve Israel-Palestine conflict will more be the expression of this objective than a genuine concern for the solution. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.