3 - 9 January 2002
Issue No.567
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 3 - 9 January 2002 Issue No.567 |
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A new alignment?
The boosting of Sino-Arab political and economic cooperation was top of the agenda during the Chinese foreign minister's recent visit according to Gamal Nkrumah
Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan's three-day visit to Egypt came at a time of continuing upheaval and diplomatic realignments on the international arena. With China and Egypt having broadly similar foreign policy aims it is not surprising that they would gravitate towards each other.
President Hosni Mubarak in discussion with Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan in Sharm El-Sheikh last Thursday
Tang arrived in Egypt last Tuesday on the final stage of a Middle East tour which took him to Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, but not to Israel.
Following talks in Cairo on Wednesday with his Egyptian counterpart, Ahmed Maher, Tang flew to the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh to meet with President Hosni Mubarak amid talk by Egyptian and Chinese officials of a "strategic cooperative relationship" being built between the two countries.
Discussions centred around the Arab-Israeli conflict, and especially the recent escalation of Israeli military activities in the occupied territories. "China is taking a strong position in support of the Palestinian people," Maher told reporters after the meeting at Sharm El-Sheikh. The Chinese foreign minister stressed that although diplomatic ties between China and Israel have been established in recent years, China stands as a staunch defender of the Palestinian right to self- determination and supports a just settlement in the Middle East. Tang reiterated China's stance of supporting the principle of land- for-peace and United Nations resolutions 242 and 338 while also urging the Israelis and Palestinians to restart peace talks.
The Chinese foreign minister outlined a framework for developing closer Sino-Arab relations. This would include supporting each other at the UN and WTO as well as at other multilateral forums. "We believe that the prospects for Sino-Arab cooperation are broad," Tang told reporters.
Talks also revolved around the United States-led war against terrorism. "The Chinese minister spelled out a position identical to the Egyptian perspective and stated the need to draw a line between terrorism and any legitimate resistance to occupation," Maher explained. Tang concurred, saying, "China opposes confusing terrorism with the just struggle of the Arab countries against external aggression and the maintenance of their sovereignty and independence," in reference to the conflict between Israel and liberation movements in the occupied territories and Lebanon. The Chinese foreign minister also made it clear that his country supports Syrian efforts to reclaim the Golan Heights, currently under Israeli occupation. A distinction should be made, Tang said, between terrorism and the right of resistance, particularly so with regard to the Palestinians. Tang similarly criticised Israeli designs to weaken the Palestinian Authority and said that Israeli oppression in the Palestinian territories was detrimental to prospects for regional political and economic well- being. Finally, the Chinese foreign minister warned that Israeli atrocities against Palestinians are not in the interest of peace or security and described them as "immoral."
Despite heavy speculation in the Arab media about the extent of military cooperation between China and Israel, Tang stated that no Arab country he had visited had officially raised the subject with him.
Israel cancelled last year an agreement it had with China to sell it an advanced airborne radar system following intense US diplomatic pressure. China has also appeared to shy away from closer cooperation with Israel because of its special friendship with the US, an attitude that has been clearer in the wake of the Sino-American row over a grounded US spy plane in early 2001. Finally, there have been marked Chinese reservations over US President George Bush's plans to establish a new National Missile Defence system.
Commenting on the situation in Afghanistan, Tang said that China is against expanding the US-led war on Afghanistan "to include other countries or another area due to a certain country's political interests or strategic demands." And he warned that terrorism should not be consigned to specific ethnic or religious groups or regions. The war on terrorism, Tang explained, "should have defined limits, irrefutable evidence and should avoid hurting innocent civilians."
Tang stressed that China shares identical views on the fight against terrorism with Egypt and that it fully backs President Mubarak's proposal for convening an international conference on terrorism. He noted that China understands the concerns of Arab countries and is aware that many Arab and Muslim nations have been victims rather than perpetrators of terrorism.
It was in 1986 that Mubarak first mooted the idea of convening an international conference but it was not until 1996 that Egypt hosted a peacemakers' summit in which the issue of terrorism was first tackled. Tang said that China appreciates Egypt's positive role in the fight against terrorism. He added that Beijing intends to step up the level of its consultations with Egypt as well as with other Arab and Muslim countries regarding the international fight against terrorism.
Tang and Mubarak discussed at Sharm El-Sheikh the Egyptian president's scheduled visit to China in January. The foremost issue on the agenda is expected to be the Egyptian economy and, in particular, the boosting of Egyptian exports to China. The balance of trade is currently heavily tilted in China's favour with Chinese exports taking, in 1999, the lion's share at $715,9 million out of a total volume of trade of $750 million. It is believed that the two countries will agree that there is a need for a more aggressive marketing of Egyptian products within Chinese markets as well as trying to give a boost to Chinese tourism to Egypt.
During his visit to Beijing, Mubarak is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Jiang Zemin.
The Egyptian President has been a frequent visitor to China over the years, notching up seven trips since 1976 when he met with Chairman Mao. President Ziang Zemin is also no stranger to Egypt, having met with Mubarak in Alexandria in April 2000.
Despite coming at a politically- charged time, Tang's visit also took on a cultural hue when he visited last Friday the new library complex in Alexandria and talked with officials there about the project of "strengthening ties" between China and the library. The two countries have, in the past, jointly issued stamps of the gilded masks of San Xungdui, of the ancient Shu Kingdom of China, and of the ancient Egyptian New Kingdom boy Pharaoh Tutankhamen in a tribute to the rich cultural heritage of these two ancient civilisations.
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