Savior, Ally, Competitor? Which Role for China in the Middle East and North Africa?

On October 3, 2024, experts and policymakers came together in Nicosia, Cyprus, as part of a panel discussion titled “Savior, Ally, Competitor? Which Role for China in the Middle East and North Africa?”, to discuss the extent and consequences of the rising significance of China in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

In his opening remarks, FES Representative in Cyprus and moderator of the discussion Hubert Faustmann outlined illustrated the substantial history of China’s presence in the region and the grown extent to which it has expanded its actions in the region.

During the subsequent discussion it became clear that China has become a highly visible player in the MENA region, forging close ties with regional countries particularly in the economic realm via investment instruments, multilateral organizations gradually broadening its activities also in other areas such as political and security cooperation.

Having become more autonomous in its security calculations, countries such as Saudi Arabia themselves also actively increased their cooperation with Beijing, striving for the gains of economic exchange and increased interest in regional security by additional foreign powers.

Over the course of the discussion it became clear that the role of China particularly stands out for some parts of the MENA region, such as for Algeria, which has developed an especially close relationship with China for a long time already. Also, Chinese support e.g. in response to the COVID-pandemic has boosted its popularity among many parts of society in the region.

Europe however has not developed a coherent position on China’s role in the MENA region but has increasingly become aware of its importance, also with regard to Beijing’s growing influence on regional infrastructure, technology and investments.

At the same time, the limits of China’s role have become clear as well such as in the economic realm, which still figures below Western investment figures in many parts of the region and has led to substantial trade deficits among many MENA countries. In the political and security realms even more, the European and particularly US still do play an influential role that is likely to persist for the time being, provided that Europe in particular finds a unified position and strategy to deal with Beijing’s ascent in the Middle East and North Africa.

The discussion of Cyprus provided an interesting example, as a European Union member state that is yet close to the MENA region and maintains close ties with China. Yet, similar to the Russian war of aggression Ukraine, any aggravation of tension with Beijing would substantially complicate Cyprus’ relationship with China.

Therefore, while there are many benefits arising from increased role of and cooperation with China for many, the panel discussion has also allowed to shed light on the negative repercussions of this development in the MENA region.

A recording of the discussion is available on YouTube.