On May 30th, the China-Arab Forum was held in Beijing, with several Middle Eastern leaders visiting China. The Chinese Communist Party attempted to demonstrate progress in its diplomatic relations with Arab countries to mask its international isolation and avoid provoking Iran again. Apart from the China-Arab Forum, topics such as the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea, Russia-Ukraine war, Hong Kong, and espionage cases between China and other countries suddenly escalated. The leadership in Zhongnanhai once again found itself caught in various diplomatic whirlpools, as their diplomatic show before the Third Plenary Session fell flat.
On May 30th, Xi Jinping met with the visiting President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed; on May 31st, he met with King Hamad of Bahrain and President Saied of Tunisia. After the three meetings, joint statements were issued, but the Chinese Communist Party did not release a joint statement with the UAE in a timely manner, with the Chinese version only being released on June 2nd. The peculiarity in the statement was soon exposed.
During the CCP’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs press conference on June 3rd, a reporter asked about reports from the Iranian media that the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had summoned the Chinese ambassador to Iran to protest statements made by China and the UAE regarding a disputed island between Iran and the UAE. The spokesperson, Maoning, stated that China’s stance on the “island” issue has always been consistent and called for dialogue and negotiation among the parties involved, asserting that the content of the joint statement aligns with China’s position.
The joint statement released by the CCP on June 2nd did not mention anything about the “island,” but Maoning’s response confirmed the existence of relevant content in the joint statement, indicating that the CCP did not stand with Iran. The Chinese version released by the CCP secretly omitted the content related to the disputed “island” between Iran and the UAE.
This move by the CCP failed to deceive Iran and seemed more like an attempt to conceal things from party officials and the Chinese people. The CCP’s actions were immature, further angering Iran and showing disrespect towards the UAE.
During Xi Jinping’s visit to the Middle East in December 2022, a dispute over the “island” arose, with Iranian media immediately striking back at the CCP over the Taiwan issue. Subsequently, Hu Chunhua, a member of the Politburo who still holds the title of Vice Premier of the CCP, was dispatched to Iran to resolve the situation.
By hosting the China-Arab Forum in Beijing and arranging visits from Middle Eastern country leaders simultaneously, the CCP aimed to boost its ties with Arab countries. However, by continuing to take a stand on the “island” issue, they inadvertently triggered another diplomatic incident. By editing the joint statement, the CCP completely disregarded basic norms of international relations, likely out of concern over internal ugliness being exposed.
With the Third Plenum approaching and facing tightening containment measures from the United States and its allies, the CCP leadership probably hoped to show off with its Middle Eastern diplomatic activities, only to have their plans backfire. Through this event, Middle Eastern countries should see that the CCP is fundamentally untrustworthy.
On May 30th, a ministerial-level meeting of the China-Arab Forum was held in Beijing, with Xi Jinping delivering a speech. The CCP sought to demonstrate closer relations with Arab countries or a greater voice in the Middle East. However, the CCP’s official media propaganda was relatively low-key.
The CCP claimed that the forum produced three outcome documents: the “Beijing Declaration,” the “2024-2026 China-Arab States Cooperation Forum Action Plan,” and the “Joint Statement by China and Arab States on the Palestine Issue.” However, only the third statement was released, while the full texts of the first two documents were never made public.
The CCP’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs briefly introduced some contents of the “Beijing Declaration,” mentioning that the 11th Ministerial Conference of the Forum will be held in Tunisia in 2025, with the second China-Arab summit scheduled for 2026. This indicates a lack of strong willingness for high-level meetings between the two sides.
The “Declaration” also stated, “Support for Arab countries in maintaining security and stability in the Middle East.” This is in contrast to the CCP’s actual behavior, as the CCP has been actively trying to create chaos in the Middle East to counterbalance the United States and its allies. After limited airstrikes between Israel and Iran, both quickly ceased, with CCP’s official media reports showing discontent.
The “Declaration” further mentioned, “Both sides emphasized condemning and combating all forms of terrorism and rooting out the causes of terrorism.”
This once again reveals the CCP’s false promises. Since Hamas’ attack on Israel in July 2023, most hostages have not been released, yet the CCP has never condemned Hamas while continuously criticising Israel. The main external force behind Middle Eastern terrorist organizations is the CCP, but Middle Eastern countries are unable to stop it and can only superficially demand promises from CCP, which is still better than CCP openly supporting terrorist groups.
The CCP and Iran mutually exploit each other, evident to various Middle Eastern countries. In April, Iran launched large-scale airstrikes against Israel, which has a robust air defense force. Other countries might increasingly rely on support from the United States and its allies to counter Iran. The Houthis in Yemen are causing the most trouble in the Red Sea for Middle Eastern countries, but the CCP does not participate in the US-led naval escort operations. Even the CCP’s so-called naval escort formations in the Middle East cannot protect Chinese merchant ships.
The CCP’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summed up the “Action Plan” for China-Arab cooperation in a single sentence, vaguely mentioning dialogue mechanisms, economic cooperation, and cultural exchanges without providing detailed content.
During the forum, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivered a speech titled “Being a Practitioner of Action to Build a Community of Common Destiny for China and Arab Countries.” This title reflects the current state of China-Arab cooperation. Despite having held ten ministerial-level meetings at the forum, substantive cooperation remains limited, prompting Wang Yi to emphasize “action.”
Despite being a significant buyer of Middle Eastern oil, other countries should not trust the CCP. Some nations may have to superficially engage with the CCP, and in some cases, foreign ministers did not attend the forum but sent representatives.
Wang Yi could only continue to praise Xi Jinping as the one who “guides the direction” of China-Arab relations. However, the CCP has no intention or capability to address the actual issues in the Middle East. On the contrary, it is consistently trying to cause disruptions and provoke conflicts.
The carefully orchestrated show of the China-Arab Forum by the CCP did not result in anything noteworthy. They once again stirred up trouble with Iran and faced a series of other events.
On May 23rd, the CCP announced military exercises around Taiwan, only to abruptly end them the next day. The newly appointed Chinese Minister of National Defense, Dong Jun, attempted to maintain a hard-line stance at the Shangri-La Dialogue, leading to strong responses from the US, Japan, and South Korea.
On June 2nd, the defense ministers of the US, Japan, and South Korea held a trilateral meeting in Singapore and issued a joint statement strongly opposing any unilateral attempts to alter the status quo in the Indo-Pacific waters. They also highlighted their respective positions on the CCP’s recent “dangerous and aggressive behavior” in the South China Sea, called for full respect for international law, including freedom of navigation and overflight, and emphasized the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. The three parties decided to conduct multi-domain trilateral exercises this summer.
The trilateral summit between China, Japan, and South Korea held on May 27th was evidently not as successful as the subsequent defense ministers meeting with the US and Japan. The CCP leader disregarded Japan and South Korea, refusing to participate in the trilateral summit and pushing Japan and South Korea further towards the US.
During the CCP’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs press conference on June 3rd, a reporter asked about a Dutch navy vessel sailing through the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait as part of larger freedom of navigation exercises in the region. The spokesperson, Maoning, did not directly mention the Netherlands, offering a vague response. While the CCP’s Ministry of National Defense promoted the military exercises around Taiwan, they remained silent on this matter, revealing cracks in their facade. The CCP is facing a growing circle of challenges, not just a small group, with the Third Plenum approaching and the CCP leader struggling to justify their actions.
On May 31st, Philippine President Marcos attending the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore called for decisive action to stop the CCP’s military, intimidation, excessive propaganda, and baseless territorial claims. He emphasized that the boundaries set in their waters are based on international law, not imagination, declaring that the Philippine people will not submit.
On June 3rd, the CCP’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared a strong opposition to this, placing the blame for the recent escalation of South China Sea issues entirely on the Philippines and involving the US.
The CCP redirecting its aggression towards the Philippines in the South China Sea was likely due to the reactivation and establishment of new US military bases in the Philippines, making the CCP’s intentions regarding Taiwan more challenging. However, the CCP’s provocation sparked a strong backlash from the Philippines and raised concerns among ASEAN countries, leading to further alignment with the US and its allies.
Ukrainian President Zelensky attended the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore to seek ASEAN support.
On June 15th, Switzerland will host a Ukraine peace summit, which the CCP refuses to participate in. Zelensky expressed that Russia is leveraging the CCP’s influence in the region and using Chinese diplomats to disrupt the peace summit.
Zelensky mentioned the CCP’s military support for Russia, stating that they never requested military assistance from the CCP and were unaware of it. However, there are reports indicating that materials are somehow entering Russia from China, with some parts of Russia’s weapon systems coming from China.
Zelensky’s statements unveiled the CCP’s deceptive actions. Maoning, the CCP’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, struggled to respond to reporters, highlighting their inability to handle the situation effectively.
As Hong Kong cracked down on democracy activists, the US prepared to impose visa sanctions on officials involved in the turmoil. Maoning claimed they were ready to retaliate.
The CCP’s attempt to showcase the China-Arab Forum failed, leading to complications with Iran and a sudden surge in issues surrounding Taiwan, the South China Sea, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, espionage cases, and Hong Kong. Around the anniversary of the June 4th incident, international attention once again focused on Zhongnanhai, plunging them into a new dilemma.