‘Negative Peace’? China’s Approach to the Middle East
WAR ON THE ROCKS
What is China up to in the Middle East? What are its intentions, and do they constitute a threat to the predominant U.S. order there? And will there soon be a transformation in its approach to regional conflict, especially through the emerging concept and practice of “peace through development”?
For decades, the regional order has been a U.S.-designed and U.S.-managed one, in which there were clear differences between allies and rivals. By contrast, on the surface China looks to have rejected this model and to have prepared to work with all countries across the U.S. ally/rival divide, including Israel, Iran, and Saudi Arabia.
