The rise of China and the Middle East: Chinese foreign policy towards Iran, Israel, and Turkey (2001-2011)

Abstract

This dissertation examines China’s cross-regional foreign policies – with a specific focus on non-Arab countries in the Middle East – within the frame-work of debates on China’s rise in the period from 2001 and 2011. The research question of the dissertation is how the rise of China has influenced China’s foreign policy towards non-Arab countries in the Middle East over the same period. The dissertation answers the research question by analyzing international crises in the Middle East such as Iran’s nuclear crisis, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the Cyprus question. The historical background of these crises, bilateral relations between China and the respective countries, and China’s political and diplomatic position towards the crises are analyzed for each case study.