China’s harsh statement towards Israel. The Kremlin shows its sympathy with the Palestinians
“China and Russia see this through the lens of the United States more than Palestine or Israel. If the United States can effectively unite the world, that is a bad thing for them. If the United States and its allies become more isolated, they judge that to be a bad thing.” Good for themselves.” – noted John Alterman, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington.
The Chinese authorities have constantly called for a ceasefire and a halt to escalation, but in recent days they have intensified their rhetoric against Israel. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that his country’s actions “went beyond the scope of self-defense” and called for an end to the “collective punishment” of the residents of the Gaza Strip.
However, the Kremlin expressed sympathy with the Palestinians and blamed the United States for the current situation. Reuters reports that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said this week that this was “a clear example of the failure of American policy in the Middle East.”
The common interests of China and Russia
The agency confirms that Putin and the leader of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, are trying to deepen relations with developing countries, in search of economic benefits and a way to confront the influence of the United States and its allies. These treatments were linked to, among other things, the recent summit of China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Beijing, in which Putin participated.
Although the strategies of China and Russia in the Middle East are not completely identical, they have a lot in common, Reuters says. Beijing signaled its growing influence in the region by recently announcing an agreement to restore relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Moscow also developed its relations with Tehran, purchasing drones from it and participating in supporting the regime in Syria.
China and Russia also criticized the United States’ position towards the Palestinians, considering that this amounts to marginalizing them. “It is clear that the common interest (of China and Russia) is to emphasize the negative role of the United States in this conflict. This fits into their broader narrative about the need to build an alternative world order to the United States,” Jean-Loup Semaan said. An expert in Middle East affairs from the National University of Singapore.
Russia’s war against Ukraine constitutes an additional motivation for Moscow to support the Palestinian cause. The United States has tried, without complete success, to convince countries of the Global South to support Ukraine. Reuters estimates that portraying Washington as a force fueling conflict in the Middle East is an attempt to harm these efforts.
According to Alterman, China, which considers the United States its main competitor, has a similar motive. According to the researcher, Beijing is trying to “play the Global South card regardless of its close relations with Israel” and does not actually support Hamas, but rather “secretly helps create resistance to American efforts to build international support for Israel.”
