Chinese-Middle East relations and their implications for U.S. policy.

Abstract

China and the Middle East have engaged in various interactions throughout the post-war period. This thesis looks at those interactions and postulates a purposeful intent underlying Chinese-Middle Eastern activity. Purposeful intent is deduced from a consideration of extant and subsequently probable Chinese and Middle Eastern foreign policies. Vehicles for examining these foreign policies include: aspects of applicable domestic fabrics; those fabrics' perceptions of international requirements; external realities of the countries involved; the regional interaction itself. Economic, cultural, security and diplomatic issues are included. Likely goals and objectives of China and the Middle East through continued interaction are discussed. Israel and the other Levantine states comprise the two primary foci used to identify the Middle East region. China is discussed first from the period beginning with 1949 through to the ascendancy of Deng Xiaoping, then from the Four Modernizations and reform through to the present. Implications for U.S. policy regarding both China and the Middle East conclude the study.