Chinese President Xi Jinping is applauded as he arrives for the fifth plenary session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sunday. AFP
Chinese President Xi Jinping is applauded as he arrives for the fifth plenary session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sunday. AFP
Chinese President Xi Jinping is applauded as he arrives for the fifth plenary session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sunday. AFP
Raghida Dergham is the founder and executive chairwoman of the Beirut Institute, and a columnist for The National
March 12, 2023
Among all the world leaders today, Chinese President Xi Jinping appears to be in the most comfortable position.
Last week, he was unanimously re-elected president for another five years. In October, he had been re-elected chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and head of the Central Military Commission.
Then on Friday, Beijing sponsored an accord to restore diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, with the two countries agreeing to reopen their embassies and return to a security co-operation framework they signed in 2001. These agreements were announced in a joint Saudi-Iranian-Chinese statement confirming a future meeting between the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers to implement further diplomatic steps. The statement also mentioned reviving co-operation agreements signed in 1998 in the fields of trade, investment, technology, science, culture and sports.
The Chinese involvement in reviving diplomatic relations between Riyadh and Tehran did not come as a surprise. Last December, I wrote in these pages: “Beijing wants to act as a bridge between Saudi Arabia and Iran and help defuse their tensions, believing it can play a successful role in ending the Yemen conflict … Tehran might resist these efforts, but Beijing’s leverage over it is substantial.”
Beijing will continue to monitor the rapprochement that comes after a years-long estrangement and that will have major implications for the Middle East. Its role in the negotiations is likely to raise concerns in Washington, too, as China’s political and economic clout has strategic dimensions, even if the US remains confident that its security relations with the Gulf states are yet unrivalled. However, Washington might also feel reassured by the rapprochement because it prefers an accord between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The Biden administration, after all, was indirectly involved in months-long negotiations with Tehran in Vienna over the latter’s nuclear weapons programme.
China's top diplomat Wang Yi is flanked by Saudi Minister of State and national security adviser Musaed bin Al Aiban, left, and Iranian Admiral Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, in Beijing on Friday. Reuters
With the US stepping up its rhetoric against China, Xi will be keen not to fall into a trap of provocation
While Mr Xi appears unrivalled in China, US President Joe Biden can never dream of winning an election unanimously, given his country’s two-party system. From this lens, any American president would appear weaker than any Chinese president. But that doesn’t mean that the US’s administrative state is weaker than that of China. In fact, Washington’s civilian and military establishments are so strong that, despite China’s continued ascendancy (as seen in its deepening influence in the Middle East), America will continue to lead world for the foreseeable future.
Nonetheless, China today is at the top of America’s list of priorities, and classed as its main rival, with every move Mr Xi makes being closely watched in Washington.
The Chinese president is playing his cards carefully, most notably vis-a-vis the war in Ukraine.
Despite China’s favourable relations with Russia, Mr Xi has attempted to avoid being seen as an ally of the Russian leadership in its war effort. In recent weeks, Beijing has sought to play the role of mediator, reassuring European leaders and pushing back against American accusations that it intends to supply lethal aid to Russian forces.
The Chinese government has also yet to set an official date for Mr Xi’s planned visit to Moscow. Presumably, it is in no rush to do so – at least not until the trajectory of the war is clear following possible offensives from both sides in March and April. With the Biden administration stepping up its rhetoric against Beijing, particularly in the context of the war, Mr Xi will be keen not to fall into a trap of provocation.
Russia’s slide in the global arena, due to the Ukraine war, might be having an impact on its relationship with China. A pragmatic Beijing is focused on its strategic projects and its aspiration to become a superpower competing with, if not replacing, the US for global greatness. Its leadership has a vision and a roadmap, but it is ready to adapt as and when required. For example, necessity has required a reformulation of its relations with not just Russia but Iran, with the latter becoming a direct party to the Ukraine war, delivering military supplies to Russian forces.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi shakes hands with International Atomic Energy Organisation Director General Rafael Grossi in Tehran earlier in the month. AP Photo
Some in Tehran are trying to distance themselves from the war, claiming that the supply of Iranian drones to Russia is based on a deal made prior to the war. If anything, this reveals contradictions within Iran’s governing class.
With the battle for eventual succession atop Iran’s power structure having begun, some want to deal with the international community the way North Korea does, while others seek to resume talks with the West in the hope that this would lead to sanctions relief. In its broad outlines, the battle appears to be between the clerics and the generals running the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp.
The leadership in Tehran does not wield as much power inside Iran as the leadership in Beijing does in China. Iran today has to repress widespread and popular unrest that stands up to the regime and its practices. All this while, it has watched Beijing deepen its ties with the Gulf states, and lost any potential allies in Europe over its involvement in the Ukraine war.
It’s worth viewing the Saudi-Iran rapprochement in this context.
Beijing’s sponsorship of such important regional agreements follows on from the importance of mutual strategic trust that Mr Xi Jinping talked about during his visit to Riyadh last year. It is a key step towards increasing China’s influence in the Middle East, exactly as he has sought to accomplish with the precision, persistence and confidence of a leader comfortable in both his domestic and global positions.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE) TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE) Where: Allianz Arena, Munich Live: BeIN Sports HD Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
TEAMS
US Team
Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth
Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger
Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler
Kevin Kisner, Patrick Reed
Matt Kuchar, Kevin Chappell
Charley Hoffman*, Phil Mickelson*
International Team
Hideki Matsuyama, Jason Day
Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen
Marc Leishman, Charl Schwartzel
Branden Grace, Si Woo Kim
Jhonattan Vegas, Adam Hadwin
Emiliano Grillo*, Anirban Lahiri*
* denotes captain's picks
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Brolliology: A History of the Umbrella in Life and Literature
By Marion Rankine
Melville House
Episode list:
Ep1:A recovery like no other- the unevenness of the economic recovery
Ep2:PCR and jobs - the future of work - new trends and challenges
Ep3:The recovery and global trade disruptions - globalisation post-pandemic
Ep4:Inflation- services and goods - debt risks
Ep5:Travel and tourism
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
About 57.5 million people 51.1 million received a jab 6.4 million have not
Where are the unvaccinated?
England 11% Scotland 9% Wales 10% Northern Ireland 14%
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
Travel distance: Limited
Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
Duration: Can linger for days
Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
Source: Can be carried from distant regions
The biog
DOB: March 13, 1987 Place of birth: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia but lived in Virginia in the US and raised in Lebanon School: ACS in Lebanon University: BSA in Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut
MSA in Design Entrepreneurship at the School of Visual Arts in New York City Nationality: Lebanese Status: Single Favourite thing to do: I really enjoy cycling, I was a participant in Cycling for Gaza for the second time this year
