Soft power diplomacy between China and the Arab world,China uses religious soft to boost relationship with the Arab world

[beijingwalker]

Soft power diplomacy between China and the Arab world,China uses religious soft to boost relationship with the Arab world​

BY FAZZUR RAHMAN SIDDIQUI​

OCT 08, 2022 - 12:05 AM GMT+3

‘Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, China has used religious soft power more rigorously to boost its relationship with the Arab world’​

One cannot deny the fact that China’s role in the Arab world has grown recently in all aspects of the bilateral relationship, including economic and diplomatic relations as well as on the military and strategic fronts. But one of the major aspects of this relationship that has gone unnoticed or is rather obscure is the growing soft power diplomacy between the two regions, which has proven to be a catalyst along with a burgeoning economic and political relationship.

The use of soft power has been crucial in the emergence of China as a major global power. To strengthen ties further, both sides have started to pursue soft power diplomacy, and China seems to be the more ardent believer in this to take this bilateral relationship to new heights. China often highlights religious, cultural, linguistic, and culinary components of diplomacy in its relationships.

Many aspects of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have been directly linked to cultural and people-to-people outreach and a new project has been initiated to translate hundreds of Chinese books into Arabic and vice versa. Different cities of China are flooded with Arabic professionals and one such commercial city is Yiwu, where there are around 1,000 Arabic translators engaged in different multination outlets. Today the city of Yiwu has hundreds of Arabic-learning institutions with more than 10,000 students enrolled to learn Arabic. One can see thousands of sites offering jobs to Arabic translators in several Chinese export companies.

Al-Jazeera's bureau office in Beijing once reported that unlike in Tehran or Ankara, they face no difficulty in finding fluent Arabic speakers. Likewise, Al-Jazeera occasionally airs live interviews of Chinese officials from the West Asia division in the Chinese Foreign Ministry, which is very much similar to the Hard Talk show aired on BBC.

Xinhua in Arab world​

Xinhua, a Chinese state news agency, has a bureau in almost every Arab capital and a bureau headquarters based in Cairo. Likewise, Chinese media agencies run several blogs on the Arab World. For the first time, the Arab world received attention in China when the 2006 Lebanon-Israel war became the most talked about issue for Chinese bloggers. The opening of the Arabic department at the Foreign Language University in Beijing is another testimony of the growing significance of soft power diplomacy in the arena of the China-Arab world bilateral relationship. This is not only China showing all enthusiasm to promote the Arabic language in its land but the Arab world is equally keen on it.

Saudi Arabia has decided to introduce the Chinese language in primary and secondary level education and this decision was made following the visit of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince to China in February 2019. Recently, China sent 40 students to different Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Egypt and some of them participated in Quran recitation completion held in Saudi Arabia.

The philosophy of Confucianism is also being employed as a soft power element to bring these two entities closer. Many in China have equated Islam and Confucianism in their content and philosophy. Today, there are 12 Confucius institutions in the region and Morocco has three such institutions, followed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan with two each, and one in Lebanon, Sudan and Bahrain. Confucius Institutes in Morocco, Egypt, and Jordan also have study abroad programs that send their students to China and China has at least one study abroad agency that recruits Arab students to study in different Chinese universities.

The Dubai Confucius Institute in the United Arab Emirates has the largest number of students and this suggests that growing economic ties between the two countries are forcing them to know not only each other’s politics and geography but also history, religion and culture as well. Lebanon was the first country in the Arab region to establish a center for the Chinese language in its St. Joseph University in Beirut with the joint collaboration of the Chinese government and the Confucius Institute. The Chinese government has also established a series of Islamic associations that function like mouthpieces of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Today, these associations are employed to craft a new narrative for the Arab audience and to discredit the stories about the Chinese policies of repression and assimilation against the Turkic-Muslim Uyghur minority in the Xinjiang region. These associations are engaged in imparting socialist and Chinese cultural values in the Chinese mosques for the prayer holders.

Hajj is another element of public diplomacy or the soft power approach to reach out to the larger Arab World and even this part is handled by the Islamic Association. During the hajj, senior officials of the association hold meetings with the higher officials in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to rebuke the anti-Chinese campaign, particularly with regard to the hostile situation for Uyghurs in the country. As part of the projection of its soft power diplomacy, China from time to time hosts different kinds of exhibitions highlighting Arab food and calligraphy. In the town of Ningxia, an Islamic food expo and Arabic calligraphy exhibition were recently held and for many, Hui (ingenious Muslims) culture was quite appealing for the Arab expatriates, tourists and traders.

Over the decades, more than a hundred restaurants serving Arab cuisine have sprung up in the commercial town of Yiwu and some of the restaurants showcase belly dancing. Many restaurants serve Lebanese food and many employ Chinese staff. One of the most entertaining examples of Islam’s appeal in Chinese popular culture is the enormous affection for Afanti – the legendary Sufi folk hero who is also known as “Nasreddin Hodja” in Turkish and Persian or “Goha” in Arabic.

Religious soft power​

Since the launch of the BRI in 2013, China has used religious soft power more rigorously to boost its relationship with the Arab world. One can see the special sections on different matchmaking websites like "Love Habibi" for Arab Chinese. One glance at their profile makes it clear that they have recently migrated to China, mainly from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Lebanon. There are many Arabs marrying in China and settling there with their Chinese spouses.

In recent years, China has witnessed the blooming of thousands of mosques built under the auspices of the Muslim World League. A brand new Sunni mosque, a blend of Gulf and Central Asian architecture, has been built in the town of Yiwu, which is attended by around 7,000 Muslims for Friday prayer. A smaller Sunni Mosque in the Futian market in Yiwu caters to pious traders and a Hui imam gives sermons in a mix of Arabic and Mandarin. The prayer time clock in the center of Yiwu shows that this Chinese city is firmly on the spiritual map of Arab Muslims. A number of private Arabic or Sino-Arabic schools have opened all over the country. There has been substantial growth in Muslim/Arabic classes in the country. They often go by names like the Sino-Arabic School, the Muslim Culture School, the Arabic School, The Right Path School, the Muslim Light School of Arabic, the School of Hui Culture, etc. The government in China has founded many Quran institutes with the help of the Department of Religious Affairs and the Islamic Association.

One can see that this is not merely for trade, diplomacy, politics or strategy, which are all defining the new template of the China-Arab relationship, but soft power has equally emerged as an indissoluble element of the new burgeoning relationship between the two.

Soft power diplomacy between China and the Arab world | Opinion

‘Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, China has used religious soft power more rigorously to boost its relationship with the Arab...

www.dailysabah.com

 

[Corruptistan]

Soft power diplomacy between China and the Arab world,China uses religious soft to boost relationship with the Arab world​

BY FAZZUR RAHMAN SIDDIQUI​

OCT 08, 2022 - 12:05 AM GMT+3

‘Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, China has used religious soft power more rigorously to boost its relationship with the Arab world’​

One cannot deny the fact that China’s role in the Arab world has grown recently in all aspects of the bilateral relationship, including economic and diplomatic relations as well as on the military and strategic fronts. But one of the major aspects of this relationship that has gone unnoticed or is rather obscure is the growing soft power diplomacy between the two regions, which has proven to be a catalyst along with a burgeoning economic and political relationship.

The use of soft power has been crucial in the emergence of China as a major global power. To strengthen ties further, both sides have started to pursue soft power diplomacy, and China seems to be the more ardent believer in this to take this bilateral relationship to new heights. China often highlights religious, cultural, linguistic, and culinary components of diplomacy in its relationships.

Many aspects of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have been directly linked to cultural and people-to-people outreach and a new project has been initiated to translate hundreds of Chinese books into Arabic and vice versa. Different cities of China are flooded with Arabic professionals and one such commercial city is Yiwu, where there are around 1,000 Arabic translators engaged in different multination outlets. Today the city of Yiwu has hundreds of Arabic-learning institutions with more than 10,000 students enrolled to learn Arabic. One can see thousands of sites offering jobs to Arabic translators in several Chinese export companies.

Al-Jazeera's bureau office in Beijing once reported that unlike in Tehran or Ankara, they face no difficulty in finding fluent Arabic speakers. Likewise, Al-Jazeera occasionally airs live interviews of Chinese officials from the West Asia division in the Chinese Foreign Ministry, which is very much similar to the Hard Talk show aired on BBC.

Xinhua in Arab world​

Xinhua, a Chinese state news agency, has a bureau in almost every Arab capital and a bureau headquarters based in Cairo. Likewise, Chinese media agencies run several blogs on the Arab World. For the first time, the Arab world received attention in China when the 2006 Lebanon-Israel war became the most talked about issue for Chinese bloggers. The opening of the Arabic department at the Foreign Language University in Beijing is another testimony of the growing significance of soft power diplomacy in the arena of the China-Arab world bilateral relationship. This is not only China showing all enthusiasm to promote the Arabic language in its land but the Arab world is equally keen on it.

Saudi Arabia has decided to introduce the Chinese language in primary and secondary level education and this decision was made following the visit of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince to China in February 2019. Recently, China sent 40 students to different Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Egypt and some of them participated in Quran recitation completion held in Saudi Arabia.

The philosophy of Confucianism is also being employed as a soft power element to bring these two entities closer. Many in China have equated Islam and Confucianism in their content and philosophy. Today, there are 12 Confucius institutions in the region and Morocco has three such institutions, followed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan with two each, and one in Lebanon, Sudan and Bahrain. Confucius Institutes in Morocco, Egypt, and Jordan also have study abroad programs that send their students to China and China has at least one study abroad agency that recruits Arab students to study in different Chinese universities.

The Dubai Confucius Institute in the United Arab Emirates has the largest number of students and this suggests that growing economic ties between the two countries are forcing them to know not only each other’s politics and geography but also history, religion and culture as well. Lebanon was the first country in the Arab region to establish a center for the Chinese language in its St. Joseph University in Beirut with the joint collaboration of the Chinese government and the Confucius Institute. The Chinese government has also established a series of Islamic associations that function like mouthpieces of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Today, these associations are employed to craft a new narrative for the Arab audience and to discredit the stories about the Chinese policies of repression and assimilation against the Turkic-Muslim Uyghur minority in the Xinjiang region. These associations are engaged in imparting socialist and Chinese cultural values in the Chinese mosques for the prayer holders.

Hajj is another element of public diplomacy or the soft power approach to reach out to the larger Arab World and even this part is handled by the Islamic Association. During the hajj, senior officials of the association hold meetings with the higher officials in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to rebuke the anti-Chinese campaign, particularly with regard to the hostile situation for Uyghurs in the country. As part of the projection of its soft power diplomacy, China from time to time hosts different kinds of exhibitions highlighting Arab food and calligraphy. In the town of Ningxia, an Islamic food expo and Arabic calligraphy exhibition were recently held and for many, Hui (ingenious Muslims) culture was quite appealing for the Arab expatriates, tourists and traders.

Over the decades, more than a hundred restaurants serving Arab cuisine have sprung up in the commercial town of Yiwu and some of the restaurants showcase belly dancing. Many restaurants serve Lebanese food and many employ Chinese staff. One of the most entertaining examples of Islam’s appeal in Chinese popular culture is the enormous affection for Afanti – the legendary Sufi folk hero who is also known as “Nasreddin Hodja” in Turkish and Persian or “Goha” in Arabic.

Religious soft power​

Since the launch of the BRI in 2013, China has used religious soft power more rigorously to boost its relationship with the Arab world. One can see the special sections on different matchmaking websites like "Love Habibi" for Arab Chinese. One glance at their profile makes it clear that they have recently migrated to China, mainly from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Lebanon. There are many Arabs marrying in China and settling there with their Chinese spouses.

In recent years, China has witnessed the blooming of thousands of mosques built under the auspices of the Muslim World League. A brand new Sunni mosque, a blend of Gulf and Central Asian architecture, has been built in the town of Yiwu, which is attended by around 7,000 Muslims for Friday prayer. A smaller Sunni Mosque in the Futian market in Yiwu caters to pious traders and a Hui imam gives sermons in a mix of Arabic and Mandarin. The prayer time clock in the center of Yiwu shows that this Chinese city is firmly on the spiritual map of Arab Muslims. A number of private Arabic or Sino-Arabic schools have opened all over the country. There has been substantial growth in Muslim/Arabic classes in the country. They often go by names like the Sino-Arabic School, the Muslim Culture School, the Arabic School, The Right Path School, the Muslim Light School of Arabic, the School of Hui Culture, etc. The government in China has founded many Quran institutes with the help of the Department of Religious Affairs and the Islamic Association.

One can see that this is not merely for trade, diplomacy, politics or strategy, which are all defining the new template of the China-Arab relationship, but soft power has equally emerged as an indissoluble element of the new burgeoning relationship between the two.

Soft power diplomacy between China and the Arab world | Opinion

‘Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, China has used religious soft power more rigorously to boost its relationship with the Arab...

www.dailysabah.com

The two largest ethnic groups in the world (Han Chinese and Arabs) with a great civilizational depth, imperial past, enormous resources and landmass, many shared goals, ancient historical ties etc., are bound to cooperate.

As I see it, this relationship will be one of the most important in world politics in the not so distant future.

One of China's biggest potential legacies abroad would be, if China managed to help develop the potential of the Arab world for the benefit of both parties. That would give China a huge political, cultural, economic etc. influence in a geopolitically, geographically, population wise and economic wise regions.

Sino-Arab relations - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Corruptistan]

Xi Jinping Likely to Visit Saudi Arabia: Foreign Minister ​

Prince Faisal bin Farhan hailed the "historical and solid relationship" between the major oil exporter and Beijing after talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.​

World News Agence France-Presse Updated: October 28, 2022 3:47 pm IST

Riyadh:
Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Saudi Arabia, the oil-rich kingdom's foreign minister said, days after the leader of the world's most populous nation secured a third term in office.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan hailed the "historical and solid relationship" between the major oil exporter and Beijing after talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

"Our meeting today comes at an important time, as it precedes the expected visit of the Chinese president to the kingdom," Prince Faisal said in a video statement broadcast on Saudi television.


Saudi Arabia is also "finalising arrangements" for summit talks between China and Arab countries, he added.

Xi, who extended his decade in power last week, has only left China once since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, when he visited Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in September.

The Chinese embassy in Saudi Arabia did not comment when asked by AFP about Xi's expected visit.

China's ministry of foreign affairs meanwhile said it had "no information to offer" on the matter.

The potential visit comes at a time of strained ties between Saudi Arabia and long-standing ally the United States after the OPEC+ cartel slashed oil production, ignoring pleas from Washington.

The decision infuriated US President Joe Biden, who flew to Saudi Arabia in July, fist-bumping with de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 37, despite once pledging to make the country a "pariah" over the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Wang said Saudi Arabia occupies a "priority position in China's overall diplomacy", according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Xi visited Saudi Arabia in January 2016 -- the year before Prince Mohammed was named as heir to the throne, ushering in a period of reform. The Saudi prince made the trip to China in early 2019.

Xi Jinping Likely to Visit Saudi Arabia: Foreign Minister

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Saudi Arabia, the oil-rich kingdom's foreign minister said, days after the leader of the world's most populous nation secured a third term in office.

www.ndtv.com

Saudi Arabia prepares for three summits to welcome China president​

Prince Faisal bin Farhan hailed the “historical and solid relationship” between Saudi Arabia and China.

Saturday 29/10/2022

A file picture shows Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at bumping elbows with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan in Wuxi, east China’s Jiangsu Province, January 10, 2022. (Xinhua)

RIYADH –

Political sources in the Arab Gulf region said Saturday that Saudi Arabia’s announcement of arranging three summits on the sidelines of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Riyadh amounts to a direct message to the United States.

The Kingdom, which arranged three summits for President Joe Biden during his visit to Saudi Arabia and enabled him to address regional leaders, paving the way for him to establish strong relations in the Middle East, will receive the Chinese president and provide him with the same opportunity.

This comes at a time when Washington is showing reluctance to develop its relations with Gulf and Arab countries.

The sources, who spoke to The Arab Weekly on condition of anonymity, considered that the message is clear and that Saudi Arabia will support those who appreciate its role and deal with it as an equal partner, and not those who resort to pressure and intimidation.

The same sources indicated that the visit of the Chinese president shows the extent of Saudi Arabia’s ability to manoeuvre as the Kingdom do possess alternatives to counter the American pressure. Riyadh, they said, wants to diversify economic and military partners as part of a future strategy of the country’s foreign policy.

The Saudi foreign minister said Friday that the Chinese president is expected to visit Saudi Arabia, days after the leader of the world’s most populous nation secured a third term in office.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan hailed the “historical and solid relationship” between the major oil exporter and Beijing after talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

“Our meeting today comes at an important time, as it precedes the expected visit of the Chinese president to the kingdom,” Prince Faisal said in a video statement broadcast on Saudi television.

Saudi Arabia is also “finalising arrangements” for summit talks between China and Arab countries, he added.

Xi, who extended his decade in power last week, has only left China once since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, when he visited Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in September.

The Chinese embassy in Saudi Arabia did not comment when asked about Xi’s expected visit.

China’s ministry of foreign affairs meanwhile said it had “no information to offer” on the matter.

The potential visit comes at a time of strained ties between Saudi Arabia and long-standing ally the United States after the OPEC+ cartel slashed oil production, ignoring pleas from Washington.

The decision infuriated US President Joe Biden, who flew to Saudi Arabia in July, fist-bumping with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 37, despite once pledging to make the country a “pariah” over the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Wang said Saudi Arabia occupies a “priority position in China’s overall diplomacy”, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

This is the third meeting for senior officials from Saudi Arabia and China in two weeks. Earlier in October, the Deputy Foreign Minister Walid Bin Abdul Karim al-Khuraiji met the Chinese Ambassador Chen Weiqing and discussed strengthening relations.

The Saudi Energy Minister, Abdulaziz Bin Salman, and his Chinese counterpart Zhang Jianhua also held a virtual meeting on October 21, where both expressed their readiness to cooperate in maintaining the stability of global oil markets.

Xi visited Saudi Arabia in January 2016 – the year before crown prince Mohammed was named as heir to the throne, ushering in a period of reform. The Saudi prince made the trip to China in early 2019.

Saudi Arabia prepares for three summits to welcome China president | | AW

The potential visit of China president comes at a time of strained ties between Saudi Arabia and long-standing ally the United States.

thearabweekly.com