China and Gaza?
Is China responsible for the "Iron Swords" War of 2023?
26 October 2023, 12 Cheshvan, 5784.
Contents:
1. Introduction.
2. Background Articles.
3. Belt and Road Initiative.
4. What Does China Want?
5. Countries in Europe that will most benefit.
6. The Elephant in the Room, Who gets bypassed?
7. China and Israel.
8. Competition from the USA and India?
9. Is China Guilty?
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Is China responsible for the recent attacks from Gaza agaisnt Israel? The present article is speculative. It regurgitates scenarios suggested by various specilaists in China affairs some of whom are themselves are of Chinese origin. The people of Gaza breed on hate and would be hostile to Israel no matter what the case. Collectively they are a ticking time-bomb and always have been. They should be transferred to Latin America or some such locale. They do not need encouragement from China or anybody else to attack Israel. Nevertheless, the timing of their renewed aggression may, or may not, have been due to encouragement from external polities such as China or others. The present article discusses this and also illustrates the Chinese attempt at acheiving international dominance, at the expense of the USA and the West.
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2. Background Articles.
An article on Quora suggested that Iran on behalf of China had brought about the present (October, 2023, Gaza-Hostage conflict.
Other articlessay virtually the same thing:
cf.
Why did Hamas stupidly attack Israel knowing that they can't win?
Answered by Mike Chang
Hamas is a tool of Iran run by a person who attained great wealth as it's leader.
He doesn't care as long as he keeps getting more money. His foot soldiers think they are fighting for Palestine and all that. They are the enforcers for this man. Hamas is largely financed by Iran, who has a high interest in China's future. It all goes back to Xi Jinping and the Belt and Road...
They need things to go the path they laid out. As we know manufacturing has left China in masses and moved to India and other nations.
This is the future that China wants to stop. That's why Hamas and Hezbollah are doing all the wrong things for. If you noticed China has massive debt and money problems with evergrand being the tip of the iceberg. The road from India to Israel would be the final nail in the coffin
How would China solve the Gaza problem?
https://unityisstrengthforum.quora.com/How-would-China-solve-the-Gaza-problem
Mike Chang
China is the Gaza problem.
They need to tell Iran to stop it, and then Iran tells Hamas and Hezbollah to back down.
Will the Hamas attack inside Israel benefit Iran and help slow down Israeli-Saudi normalization?
https://www.quora.com/Will-the-Hamas-attack-inside-Israel-benefit-Iran-and-help-slow-down-Israeli-Saudi-normalization
Mike Chang
# The normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia is part of a bigger plan.
Basically, a new trade route from India to Europe has been planned, and the Hamas attack is putting that on hold.... China has more to gain than Russia from the Hamas attacks. Iran, being buddies with China, has much to gain from the Chinese Belt and Road initiative. The India trade route bypasses both Iran and China.
The quotes above are from two of the relevant articles.
What are they all about?
It starts with China and its Belt and Road Project.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative
# The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, or B&R), known within China as the One Belt One Road is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in more than 150 countries and international organizations.
The initiative was incorporated into the Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party in 2017. #
The intentions is to build roads, railways, ports, etc. linking China to parts of southern Asia, Central Asia, Russia, eastern Africa, areas of southern Europe and Germany. It will also link all these different places together, facilitate the movement of people and goods,
China will provide the funding in the form of loans and grants. Much of the necessary construction etc as well as the financial and bureaucratic infrastructure will be provided by China and employ Chinese workers.
This entails the recipient nations becoming indebted to China and having to adjust to Chinese mores and standards.
# The initial focus has been infrastructure investment, education, construction materials, railway and highway, automobile, real estate, power grid, and iron and steel Already, some estimates list the Belt and Road Initiative as one of the largest infrastructure and investment projects in history, covering more than 68 countries, including 65% of the world's population and 40% of the global gross domestic product as of 2017. #
# While some countries, especially the United States, view the project critically because of possible Chinese influence, others point to the creation of a new global growth engine by connecting and moving Asia, Europe and Africa closer together.#
At present China produces goods that it has to export. Its own workers are paid poorly and cannot afford to acquire what they make. The solution is therefore to enable other peoples to do so and in the longrun subservient to China itself.
# According to estimates, the entire project today affects more than 60% of the world's population and approximately 35% of the global economy. Trade along the Silk Road could soon account for almost 40% of total world trade, with a large part being by sea. The land route of the Silk Road also appears to remain a niche project in terms of transport volume in the future.
# In the maritime silk road (part of the BRI, i.e. Roand and Belt Project), which is already the route for more than half of all containers in the world, deep-water ports are being expanded, logistical hubs are being built and new traffic routes are being created in the hinterland.#
# China is also trying to network worldwide research activities. #
# Academic Keyu Jin writes that while the BRI does advance strategic interests for China, it also reflects a Chinese vision of a world order based on "building a global community of shared future". #
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Answer to Quora Question:
Ray Comeau
What is the real long-term intention of China by creating One Belt One Road?
Thanks for request.
Utilization of its excess capacity for construction of infrastructure.
China has been building developing modern infrastructure for the last 4 decades or so.
As China's infrastructure needs declines it now has a surplus of experts and material available for use elsewhere.
Expanding trade routes.
Improving trade routes enables other countries better access to importing goods into China and any other country along the route; as well as faster routes for Chinese goods.
For almost a decade direct freight trains from China into Europe has been happening.
The train is considerably faster than cargo ships
In Q1, 2019 there was an average of 5 trains per day.
Trade.
China is a trading nation and the BRI is a method by which other less developed countries can benefit from China's expertise.
All less developed countries have needs for modern infrastructure to be able to develop.
Past organizations like the World Bank (whose president is always a US citizens nominated by the US) often refuses to fund the infrastructure needs of less developed countries. Hence China's BRI responds to the needs of the developing countries and others.
Aid from other organizations like the US government always come with conditions interfering in the internal functions of the country, including things like anti-abortion programs or weapons purchases.
Expanding the potential for new markets.
You cannot really trade with poor countries, because they are poor.
By helping less developed countries build the infrastructure they believe they need to advance; China hopes that over the next 20 or 30 years, those countries will become more economically viable enabling the citizens to have a higher standard of living and therefore become valuable trade partners.
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5. Countries in Europe that will most benefit:
Source:
Wolfgang Lehmacher
Which city in Europe would benefit the most from China's One Road One Belt Initiative?
Athens (Greece), Duisburg, (Germany) , the 'Five Ports' - Italian ports of Venice, Trieste, and Ravenna, plus Capodistria in Slovenia and Fiume in Croatia, Budapest Airport (Hungary).
Wally White pointed out that the project is also good for Moscow.
and theoretically Istanbul in Turkey could benefit more than any others, "primarily because of location."
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6. The Elephant in the Room, Who gets bypassed?
In the beginning China very much wanted India to participate, as Pakistan has done, but India prevaricated and avoided commitment. India has therefore (for the time being) been left out.
Japan is not included.
Western Coastal Europe is largely excluded. So is the UK. So is the USA.
At present the USA and China are the largest customers for many countries.
The major trading entities in the world today are the EU, China, and the USA, followed by Germany, Netherlands, UK, France.
The Chinese link with Germany strengthens both parties.
US dominance and prosperity is dependent to some degree on the strength of the US dollar.
China will probably attempt to replace the dollar as soon as possible. The growing international indebtedness to China will help China provide. a substitute for US currency.
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7. China and Israel.
Since 1992, China and Israel have developed increasingly close economic, military and technological links with each other. China is one of the few countries in the world to concurrently maintain warm relations with Israel, the State of Palestine, and the Muslim world at large.
Israel is not part of the Belt and Road project. Nevertheless, Chinese business and political agents are active in Israel.
# In July 2018, 180 acres of the Northern port in Haifa were transferred to Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) for a 25-year period of management. This sparked a heated discussion in the Israeli press and the academy, as well as a special discussion by the Israeli cabinet. It also came up in discussions between US National Security Advisor John Bolton and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu when they met on January 7, 2019. However, economically insignificant it may be for both China and the US, the Haifa port could become a critical battleground in a new Cold War between the two superpowers.#
China recently (October 24, 2023) urged Israel to show restraint and show humanitarian considerations in its war with Gaza. It called for peace talks between the two sides.
In October 2023, in response to the 2023 Israel-Hamas war, an Israeli embassy official stated that Israel expected to see a "stronger condemnation" of Hamas and that it was "not the time to call for a two-state solution" when "people are being murdered, slaughtered in the streets." The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs subsequently expressed "deep disappointment" over China's lack of condemnation of Hamas. Commentary in Chinese state media outlets blamed the United States for the conflict and spread disinformation and antisemitic tropes against Israel. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi stated that in Gaza, "Israel's actions have gone beyond self-defense."
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8. Competition from the USA and India?
The IMEEC (India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor) is an attempt not to be taken over by China.
India and other interested countries formed the IMEEC which is considered an attempt to counter-balance the Chinese Road and Belt initiative.
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) is a planned economic corridor that aims to bolster economic development by fostering connectivity and economic integration between Asia, the Persian Gulf and Europe.The corridor is proposed from India to Europe through the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and Greece.
It by-passes China, Iran, and Turkey.
The project was launched to bolster transportation and communication links between Europe and Asia through rail and shipping networks and is seen as a USA counter to China's Belt and Road Initiative. The memorandum of understanding document has only mapped out the potential geography of a corridor and will compete against the Suez Canal.
The project may get delayed due to 2023 Israel-Hamas war.
The IMEEC (India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor) depends on the participation of Israel. The Netanyahu Government and Netanyahu personally are foremost exponents of it.
This may have been one of the factors behind the present conflict.
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9. Is China Guilty?
China at present is going through a mini-crisis. It has expended a great deal on the Road and Belt Project and may have over-expended itself. Chinse companies are going broke.
If the Road and Belt does not succeed China might implode. China has close ties with Iran. Both Hamas and Hizbollah are funded by Iran.
Did China use its links with Iran to start the war?