AMMAN — On May 19, the Arab League concluded its 32nd summit
by adopting the Jeddah Declaration, emphasizing the need for unity in pursuit
of security and stability.
اضافة اعلان
The meeting, which covered a slew of topics, including the
Palestinian cause and developments in Sudan, Yemen, Libya, and Lebanon,
convened in Jeddah and saw Syria’s participation for the first time in over 12
years.
The summit was seen as a success by many. Amid shifting
relations in the region, specifically the newly thawed ties between Iran and
Saudi Arabia, which China mediated,
Jordan News interviewed the
Chinese ambassador to Amman, Chen Chuandong, on the importance of this summit
to China and its growing role in the region, Jordan included.
“We believe that the Jeddah Summit fully testifies to the
fact that people in the Middle East are capable, have the wisdom, and have the
power to promote peace, stability, and development in the region,” said
Chen.
“They are able to hold the future in their own hands.”
The Jeddah Summit closely succeeded two other significant
summits in just 10 months. The inaugural meeting was the Security and
Development Summit, which took place in Jeddah and saw the participation of six
GCC countries, along with Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and US President Joe Biden.
Following this, the Saudi capital, Riyadh, hosted a two-part summit led by
China, with the first round involving Gulf countries and the second involving
other Arab countries.
For the Jeddah Summit, China welcomed the Arab-led
initiative, with the Chinese envoy emphasizing: “We do not believe that the
Middle East needs any lecturer, and we do not believe there is any vacuum in
the region, as said by some political leaders from some countries.”
‘Development and security’ over ‘confrontation and division’Coinciding with the Arab League summit, two other major
meetings took place: the China-Central Asia summit, in Xi’an, China, and the G7
Summit, in Hiroshima, Japan.
The Chinese president Xi Jinping attended the first
in-person China-Central Asia summit, in which the leaders of Kazakhstan,
Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan also took part. He vowed
to increase transport and energy ties with the region. However, at the G7
summit, leaders strongly condemned China. They pledged to step up their efforts
to counter Beijing’s “economic coercion” and growing presence in the East and
South China Seas while raising concern over Taiwan, nuclear arms, and human
rights abuses.
“The Xi’an Summit, like the Jeddah Summit, came up with a
very strong Asian voice. A voice for a community of shared future that is based
on common development and shared security said Chen.
“Unfortunately … the Hiroshima summit tried to sow discord
and incite confrontation and division… in the name of fighting economic
coercion, and they are practicing decoupling and disrupting the supply chain in
the name of de-risking.”
“In my view, the Jeddah Summit and the Xi’an Summit are
catalysts for cooperation and win-win solutions, while unfortunately, the
Hiroshima Summit is a dynamite that (tried) to blow up international
solidarity.”
Syria’s returnThe presence of Syrian President Assad at the Jeddah summit
points to shifting perspective of regional actors.
Over a decade after Syria's suspension from the pan-Arab
organization following a violent crackdown on opposition demonstrators and the
subsequent war, Arab capitals seem to know increasingly share the consensus
that resolving Syria's challenges necessitates engaging with the authorities in
Damascus.
Jordan led the effort to facilitate Syria’s return. Foreign
Minister Ayman Safadi told CNN: “The whole movement in the Arab world to try
and have a leading role in efforts to bring about a political end to the Syrian
crisis took place against a backdrop, a reality in which there was no effective
effort to solve the crisis.”
“It was pretty much status quo politics, and status quo
politics only resulted in more ills and more pain and suffering for the Syrian
people and growing threats to the region, including Jordan,” he said.
According to the latest statistics, Jordan has around
740,676 Syrian refugees registered. The total figure, however, is closer to 1.3
million. This large influx of refugees has put a strain on Jordan’s already
limited resources, further exacerbating the Kingdom economic woes.
To China, Syria’s return is a cause to be celebrated,
according to the envoy.
“We are very much heartened by this development. …we believe
that after so many years of conflict and human suffering in Syria, the return
of Syria to the Arab fold is a victory for unity and dialogue,” said the
ambassador.
“Jordan is a very generous country.… But, as rightly put by
His Majesty and also high officials of Jordan, the burden of the refugees
should not be borne by Jordan because they are not Jordan's problem. It is not
Jordan's fault. So, it is the international (community's)
responsibility.”
“We believe that the return of Syria to the Arab League will
provide a very good opportunity for Arab countries to address that.”
Emphasizing China’s humanitarian and health efforts to
alleviate some of the pressure on Jordan, the ambassador highlighted the need
for post-conflict reconstruction and for a recovery program to start very soon.
“Sanctions … should be removed against the Syrians,” he
added.
On PalestineThe Arab League meeting discussed the Palestinian cause, and
members reaffirmed its centrality and reiterated Palestine’s right “to absolute
authority over all territories occupied in 1967, including east Jerusalem”.
The Chinese ambassador said: “We believe that the
Palestinian question is the core issue for the Middle East. Until the very day
the issue is resolved, there will be no peace in the region, no international
justice can be done.”
“We (China) believe that there should be a greater sense of
urgency to solve the issue. China has been upholding justice for the
Palestinian people. We have consistently and firmly supported the just cause of
the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights. And so, we
support the Palestinian people's effort to establish an independent state of
Palestine based on the 1967 border and with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
Over the past decade, the Chinese president has consistently
conveyed congratulatory messages to the UN in honor of the International Day of
Solidarity with the Palestinian people, said the ambassador. He has presented
China's proposals for resolving the Palestinian issue in these messages on
multiple occasions. China also organized four peace symposiums that
brought together individuals from both Palestine and Israel, intending to
mobilize collective efforts to foster peace, said the ambassador.
Sino-Arab and Sino-Jordanian relations “We, in China, have always looked at China-Arab
relations from a strategic and also from a comprehensive point of view. We are
ready to work with our Arab partners, including, of course, Jordan, to follow
up on the outcome of the first China-Arab summit,” said Chen.
“I wish to emphasize that China does not have a selfish
interest in the region, we do not seek to (spread) influence, and we do not
impose our values on the people of the region,” he added.
Earlier in March, Saudi Arabia officially became a dialogue
partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The Eurasian political,
economic, and security alliance is recognized as the world’s largest regional
organization, with eight members, four observer states, and several dialogue
partners.
The ambassador said that various other countries in the
region are trying to become members or partners of the organization as well,
including Iran.
“We welcome this new development. We believe that an
enlarged Shanghai cooperation organization would be more inclusive and more
representative. It would play a more important role in bringing peace and
stability to the world and, of course, to the Middle East."
At local level, Jordan and China established diplomatic ties
46 years ago, and last year, the two countries hit a record in their bilateral
trade, which reached $6.45 billion.
“We fully support the all-around reform efforts in Jordan
and the Economic Modernization Vision in line with Jordan's national conditions
and traditions, and culture. And we are committed to working with Jordan for
the high-quality Belt and Road initiative cooperation,” said the envoy.
According to Chen, many Chinese businesses are seeking new
opportunities in Jordan.
“We hope that Jordan will continue to provide a fair,
level-playing, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for
Chinese investors,” he said.
Culture is another pillar of Sino-Jordanian ties.
“In Jordan, we have over 300 Chinese students studying
Arabic and other related subject matters. And in China, we also have about 300
Jordanian students, many of them on Chinese government scholarships, studying
various disciplines in China. … I believe these people-to-people exchanges are
very important to ensure that we have an even more solid foundation for our
relationship.”
“Of course, the good friendship between our leaders and the
strategic vision of our leaders is the fundamental guarantee of our very good
relationship. I would like to take this opportunity to offer our best wishes to
HRH Crown Prince Hussein and Miss Rajwa for their incoming wedding. We would
like to offer the best, most sincere congratulations from the Chinese side,”
said the ambassador who also wished to extend his well wishes to Jordanians on
Independence Day, which falls on Thursday.
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