In a recent conference in Beijing, almost unnoticed in the commotion surrounding Prime Minister Netanyahu's visit to the USA, China brought together representatives of more than a dozen Palestinian factions, including the longtime rivals Fatah and Hamas. By the end of the two-day summit, China announced that the parties had signed an agreement ending their long schism and creating ‘a unified government for the benefit and future of the Palestinian people.’
The conference focused heavily on the civilian governance of the Palestinians and left the issue of Israel almost entirely out of the picture, a line China has kept since the war began. A series of governmental statements, including in the UN, have professed that China deplores the loss of life in the war and urges both sides to show restraint and concern for human life and humanitarian conditions.
China’s interest in the Palestinians is far from altruistic. The world has recently become increasingly hostile to China as its conflicts with the USA mount, and such a benign cause as this conference allows it to make a show of being a humane and benevolent power instead of the authoritarian regime it is widely accused of being. China is also ingratiating itself with the many countries who - despite being generally aligned with Israel and the USA - have made similar calls to reduce violence.
Another benefit for China stems in how it is seen by Middle Eastern countries besides Israel. The Arab world has recently seen the power available by allying with America, both against the Iranian drone attack and against the Houthis, and still remembers the consequences of fighting against America in Iraq and Afghanistan. China seeks to demonstrate that it too can be a backer for an unprecedented and profitable treaty btween otherwise hostile parties, showing the Arab states that there are others to ally with besides Israel.
Perhaps significantly, one of the few Palestinian factions not invited to The summit in Beijing was the Palestinian Authority - the current favorite candidate of the USA to manage Palestinian civilian life after the war. China also neglected to invite an Israeli representative, receive Israeli feedback, or indeed forewarn Israel that the summit was taking place. This sends a clear message China and its allies can act without US approval, a freedom that proves elusive to many parties in the Middle East.
Uniting the Palestinian factions will almost certainly lead to a joint war with Israel, although that aspect was rigorously scrubbed from the summit in Beijing. This will give China additional time to try and build alliances and repair its image, while the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israel-America alliance drags on longer, making both countries less popular in the world community, more fractured by protests, and costing them both resources and soldiers. This principle of the proxy war is already in use by Iran, a staunch ally of China, with grim results for democratic countries everywhere.
A final benefit China reaps from involvement in the Middle East, and specifically from its steps to prolong and constrain Israel’s war aganst Hamas, is breathing room to solidify itself internally. Its internal affairs and government control were shaken by the Hong Kong protests and the COVID-19 pandemic, and its government has been perceived as problematic for its treatment of minorities, intrusive and oppressive policies, frequent attempts to treat with ‘losing sides’ like Iran, Russia, and North Korea, and the growing tensions and tariffs from the USA. With the world looking elsewhere, China will be able to either appease its citizenry or eliminate opposition.
Behind a mask of humanitarian concern for Palestinian civilians, China seeks to more freely and openly oppress its own population, challenge Israeli and American power in the Middle East, and create a reality when other world powers might decide to stand aside should China ever directly confront America.