2019年12月5日，中心特约研究员,中东所副教授王晋于The Diplomat发表中东时事评论文章，全文如下：

Can China’s ‘New Idea’ Work in the Middle East?

China’s approach toward the region was on display at a recent security forum in Beijing.

The Middle East Security Forum, held in Beijing on November 27 and 28, saw more than 200 representatives from both the Middle East and China  come to share their views on the region’s political circumstances, major challenges and risks, as well as China’s ties with the Middle East. A majority of the attendees criticized the U.S. unilateral and and hegemonic policy in the Middle East, and argued that it is highly necessary to end the unjust regional order that has resulted from U.S. intervention and pressure. China maintains that it has put forward a “new idea” for the Middle East to preserve stability in the region and set up trust between different states in the future: that is, to uphold the philosophy of “development” rather than “divisions and confrontations.”

Four points of common understanding were shared among the attendees, including goals to set up a new security concept that is collective, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable; to realize the final peace between Palestine and Israel (among other regional issues) in a just and equal manner; to highlight and implement the role of “development” in the Middle East management; and to encourage and facilitate mutual dialogue and understanding between different civilizations over counterterrorism and counterextremism, and thereby eliminate double standards in international and regional affairs.

China has always highlighted and valued its friendship with Middle Eastern states. On the one hand, China perceives itself as the biggest developing state in the world, and believes its economic development experience could be shared and borrowed by Middle Eastern states, especially some Arab states. Beijing has been involved politically as well. Since 2002, when China created the post of Middle East envoy for the Chinese government, China’s five Middle East envoys — Wang Shijie (2002-2006), Sun Bigan (2006-2009), Wu Sike (2009-2014), Gong Xiaosheng (2014-2019), and Zhai Jun (appointed in 2019) — have made more than 70 trips to the Middle East to mediate regional crises and facilitate dialogues. Meanwhile, more than 1,800 Chinese soldiers have been stationed in Middle East as part of UN peacekeeping forces. China has also sent more than 2 billion RMB, or more than $300 million, to Palestinians and Syrians. Still, China’s role in Middle East is relatively new.

Politically, China does not seek intervention in Middle East, and hopes to develop equal bilateral and multilateral ties with regional states. China does not want to establish a sphere of influence and does not seek to fill the power vacuum. China’s balanced position and just regional policies have earned the support of Middle Eastern governments.