China’s Economic Diplomacy Approach in the Middle East Conflicts

Abstract

This study analyses China’s economic diplomacy approach in the Middle East conflicts in order to explore the following question: How does China use diplomatic means to protect and pursue commercial investments, economic assets, and economic tools, and to advance its foreign policy goals in the Middle East conflict zones? This study argues that despite its adherence to the principle of non-intervention, Beijing’s economic diplomacy has a more flexible and pragmatic interpretive approach. Chinese economic diplomacy in the Middle East uses its diplomatic resources to intervene as needed to safeguard its investments and assets, and utilises economic incentives to promote its well-defined foreign policy goals in the region’s hotspots.