MIDDLE EAST HISTORY POLITICS CULTURE XIII MIDDLE EAST XIII | Page 173

did. Chinese government together with its support of Palestinians against
Israel launched to assist the ‘Guerrilla’ movement in Dhofar (Oman) as well. 1
By softly penetrating into the Middle East, China gradually maintained
its own foreign policy objectives and specific interests in the region.
Furthermore, an establishment of diplomatic relations with the Arab
countries let China break out of the diplomatic isolation imposed by the
Western powers after its independence in 1949. In general, during the Cold
War period for the Chinese policymakers and strategists the Middle East was
viewed as an important area of the united front against the two confronting
superpowers, social-imperialism influence in particular. Thus, without the
clarification of China’s real position, basis of cooperation and coming
perspectives in the Middle East it is impossible to evaluate the region’s
significance for Beijing. In the Middle East region Israel appeared to be the
first country to recognize China in January 1950. Some months later,
however, the Arab League (Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq) decided to maintain
relations with Taiwan, without recognizing China. 2
China’s real understanding and received official information about the
Middle Eastern affairs was not clear enough, meanwhile the information was
sometimes different. Arguably, China’s first diplomatic steps and approaches
towards the Middle East region started from 1953, once the Korean War
ended. In April 1955, Chinese Prime Minister Zhou Enlai and Egyptian
President Gamal Abdel Nasser met at the Bandung conference of Non-
Aligned Nations. During the conference Zhou expressed his country’s
sympathy for the Palestinian refugees. China’s overall interests in the Middle
East started to be characterized on political, economic and cultural fronts.
The Bandung Conference of April 1955 in a true sense can be viewed as a
starting point of China-Middle East ties, and it opened a new stage in Sino-
Arab cooperation. During this conference Beijing’s interest in the Middle East
became apparent. 3 After the Suez Crisis in 1956 China’s interests in the Arab
world increased tending to grow steadily since then. Later, the Chinese
engagement and activity in the region quickened by establishing permanent
Joseph E. Khalili, Sino-Arab relations. Asian Survey 8 (8), 1968, p. 684.
Disney N., China and the Middle East, Middle East Research and Information Project
Reports No. 63 (December), Washington, DC: MERIP, 1977, p. 8.
3 Masannat G., Sino-Arab Relations. Asian Survey 6 (4), 1966, p. 220.
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