Why Arabs Should Embrace China’s Silk Road

Rallying support for a modern-day Silk Road is a goal for China’s President Xi Jinping. In summer, only a few days after he spoke at the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, Islamic State extremists seized Mosul. Regional risk may run high, yet China has surpassed the United States as the leading importer of oil, notes analyst and author Naser al-Tamimi for Al Arabiya News. “China is now the Arab world’s second-largest trading partner and the largest trading partner for nine Arab countries,” he writes. “China’s burgeoning trade with Europe, ASEAN, the Middle East and Africa further increases China’s dependence on sea lanes through the Suez Canal, Bab al-Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, Indian Ocean and Strait of Malacca.” Trade with the four regions could amount to $3 trillion by 2020, and al-Tamimi urges Arab nations to forge a free-trade agreement with China. The opinion essay concludes that China invests in naval capabilities not to rival the United States but to protect its global trade interests. – YaleGlobal