Chinesische Nahost-Offensive

China stößt zunehmend in das Machtvakuum vor, dass die USA und Europa im Nahen Osten hinterlassen. Das hat auch Auswirkungen auf Israel:

China is kicking off 2022 with a flurry of diplomacy and partnerships in Africa and the Middle East that are ruffling some feathers.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has just finished a trip to East Africa on a charm offensive designed to shore up China’s presence on the Red Sea coast and solidify Bejing’s role in the Horn of Africa. At the same time, China is entrenching its position as a critical player in the Middle East and threatening America’s long-standing hegemony in the region. 

The Chinese are expanding their military assistance to more Middle Eastern nations at a time of heightened tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran. As the United States continues to re-evaluate its arms sales to regional allies such as Saudi Arabia, China is increasing its export of military technology and hardware. This historic shift is part of a profound geopolitical reformulation in the Middle East. (...)

As China pushes deeper into the Middle East, Israel faces a complex calculation: Bring its relationship with Beijing into the open or attempt to continue business as usual. 

It appears to be choosing the former. Last year, Israel rejected an offer by the US to inspect the Haifa port. Chinese companies have been involved in expanding the port, and the US is concerned that the Chinese are using their position to monitor joint Israeli-American military operations.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that “Israeli officials were even told that the American Sixth Fleet would stop docking at Haifa port as a result of Chinese presence.” Despite intense pressure from the US, Israel rejected the inspection offer. 

Geopolitics stops for no country. Whether the US likes it or not, the Chinese footprint in the Middle East is growing thanks to decades of careful planning and quiet courtship. With Chinese purchases of Middle Eastern crude oil on the rise and the US divided on the future of its position in the region, Beijing’s influence will deepen and come fully into the light.