A curious case of a distorted map has led to much speculation internationally. It was found last week that Chinese corporate entities Alibaba and Baidu have obliterated Israel from their online maps. Although a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said that the Chinese government had not derecognised Israel, the question is, will private entities in China have the gall to carry out such distortions without keeping their bosses in the Communist Party of China in the loop? China, it is well known, pays scrupulous attention to the maps that emanate from inside its borders. Also well known is the control that Xi Jinping exercises over private companies, to the extent that questioning his policies led to the disappearance of Alibaba owner Jack Ma. Given that every such minor “mistake” is amplified manifold on the global social media, were the maps Beijing’s way of sending a message to the Arab-Muslim street that China supported their claim that Israel did not have the right to exist? At least that is how it is playing out on the pro-Palestinian section of social media, which is basking in the support it is getting from the world’s “other superpower”.
China’s response to the Israel-Hamas war has been interesting. While calling for ceasefire and peace, China has not called out Hamas for the brutal 7 October attack. Later, apparently under pressure from the US, it spoke of every country’s right to self-defence, but qualified its response by delivering Israel with a rap on the knuckles by asking it “to abide by international humanitarian law”—a travesty, given China’s own track record of “following” humanitarian laws with not just the Tibetans and the Uyghurs but also the Han Chinese if they dare to stand up to the regime. Amid this, a push seems to be building up in certain quarters in the West, specifically the United States, to make China act as the peacemaker between Israelis and Palestinians. This seems similar to the Russia-Ukraine situation, where every western government official of any worth made a beeline to Beijing asking it to exercise its influence on Vladimir Putin and make him retreat from Ukraine. As many experts say, it’s a case of asking the arsonist to act as the firefighter. There is only one country that is gaining from both wars, and it is China. Both wars have shifted the focus firmly from the Indo-Pacific where China continues to bully and terrorise smaller countries. Taiwan is no longer the world’s focus, even though China’s aggression against that island nation continues unabated. While the Ukraine war has made a hobbled Russia increasingly dependent on China, China’s implicit support to the Palestinian cause may push the Arab world towards China. Even otherwise, Joe Biden’s “values-based foreign policy”—which tried to pin the assassination of activist Jamal Khashoggi on Saudi Crown Prince MBS—has pushed Riyadh towards Beijing. It is only because of India’s efforts that Saudi Arabia came on board with the US for the India Middle East Economic Corridor (IMEC), which was announced at the Delhi G20, thus countering China’s BRI and trying to limit the latter’s influence in the Arab world. Post 7 October, what is the status of the IMEC, or for that matter the Abraham Accords that the US nudged UAE and Bahrain to sign with Israel? Both are staring at an uncertain future, with the Arab street fuming at Israel’s actions in Gaza. In fact, Bahrain has recalled its ambassador from Israel and there is no certainty when the rapprochement between Israel and the Arab world will resume.
Joe Biden was partially right when he said that Hamas’ action was backed by Iran to derail the mainstreaming of Israel in the Arab world—partially, because he missed the dragon in the room, China, which is one of Iran’s biggest backers. China considers the Arab world to be one of its major strategic pillars, for power projection and also for what the region brings to the table—oil. Lest we forget, it is China that is trying to end the hostilities inside the Arab-Muslim world by trying to end the enmity between Iran and Saudi Arabia. If Saudi-Iran relations improve, while the Abraham Accords fall apart, who is the better peace-broker in the eyes of the Arab-Muslim world—China or the US? Western policymakers refuse to believe that the Arab world, with its deep ties with the US, will ever go out of the US’ sphere of influence. But then if the US had really that much influence, how did Qatar, to give an instance, become the hub of Hamas activities, even while hosting a US military base? Qatar has also just signed a deal with a Chinese company to supply it with gas for 27 years and has increased the Chinese company’s share in its North Field gas project. Qatar is happily playing all sides, while in the middle of all this, the US returns as the “Big Satan” in Arab-Muslim eyes—a narrative that suits China perfectly. It seems the US’ ties with the Arab world are already fraying and China is winning.
But that is unlikely to deter Joe Biden from running across the dais next week on 15 November, with a smile on his face, to shake hands with Xi Jinping, when they meet in San Francisco on the sidelines of the APEC Summit, just the way the US President had done at the Bali G20 in November 2021. When he is smiling at Xi, will it strike Biden even once that the Chinese Emperor has a unipolar view of the world—there is only one power that matters, China?