Регионы в современном мире: глобализация и Азия. Зарубежное регионоведение - стр. 28

China is a big investor in Israel and has plenty of opportunity in the market, in the fields including real estate, transportation, energy, telecommunications, and other infrastructure requirements. Its ports and trade routes to the Middle East make it a major gateway to Europe for the Middle East, which is beneficial for China. Projects in Saudi Arabia, and the other Arabian states include gas pipelines, to meet Chinese demand and also a better consistent energy network across the region.

In 2018 President Xi visited Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Iran27, and released its first Arab Policy Paper to signal its intention of increased engagement in the Mideast. The paper outlined the “1+2+3” cooperation framework28. China is also trying to balance ties with Riyadh and Tehran, in March Beijing signed $65 billion worth of deals with Riyadh and aims to coordinate OBOR projects with Saudi Vision 2030, while in June China backed Iran’s admission to the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and recently extended a $10 billion credit line for infrastructure projects. Iran is an important node of the OBOR by virtue of its geography linking Central Asia with South and West Asia, while Saudi Arabia is a leader of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and also a key oil supplier29. With a planned Tripoli Special Economic Zone adjacent to the port, Tripoli could be a useful hub for Syria and enable China via the OBOR to play a constructive role in post-conflict reconstruction and stabilization efforts.

Hence, the study concludes that the ongoing regional security problems including terrorism, economic woes, and a need for immediate infrastructure, investment and trade, the OBOR initiative offers a quick economic aid. As China is becoming a more significant geopolitical actor in the Middle East, gradually the regional countries will become more dependent on Beijing for their trade and investment relations. China’s increasing economic soft power will in turn ease their dependency on the West and broaden their foreign policy options that may not always align with the United States and European Union interests. This would also reduce Western control over the region, additionally it increases regional countries’ freedom of action to diversify and engage with more economic partners. It would be beneficial if great powers including the Unites States, European Union, China, India, Russia and others also try to cooperate to jointly promote Middle East stability, security and prosperity.