Durham E-Theses From ideological antagonism to 'strategic partnership' Saudi-Chinese relationships (1949-2006) Aborhmah, Abdulwahab Abdulrahman How to cite: Aborhmah, Abdulwahab Abdulrahman (2010) From ideological antagonism to 'strategic partnership' Saudi-Chinese relationships (1949-2006), Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/2029/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 FROM IDEOLOGICAL ANTAGONISM TO 'STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP': SAUDI-CHINESE RELATIONSHIPS (1949-2006) The copyright of this thesis rests with the author or the university to which it was submitted. No quotation from it, or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author or university, and any information derived from it should be acknowledged. By Abdulwahab Abdulrahman Aborhmah Thesis Submitted in fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations 2010 School of Government and International Affairs Durham University 2 3 FEB 2011 'To understand today, one needs to know history; and to know the future, one needs to review the past' A Chinese Maxim, ii Declaration the work presented in this thesis is entirely my own and has not been previously submitted to any other university for a degree or a qualification. iii Copyright The copyright of this thesis rests with the author, Abdulwahab Abdulrahman Aborhmah. No extract from it should be published without his prior written consent, and all' information derived from it should be acknowledged. iv Dedication With great respect, love and' appreciation for my teacher, HRM Prince Dr. Faisal' Din Salman Bin Abdulaziz to whom I am deeply indebted and grateful v Acknowledgments Praise be to Allah, the Almighty God, without whose blessing this work could not have been accomplished. I would like to thank my beloved father Major General/ Abdulrahman Saeed Aborhmah and my beloved mother Jawaher Al-Ghamdi, who taught me that patience, determination and persistence are the main keys to success. I would like to extend my thanks as well to my beloved wife, Hana and sons, Abdulrahman and Laith for their love, encouragement and patience during the long hours I spent in the library and away from them. I would like, also, to thank my academic supervisor, Dr. David Kerr, for his encouragement during the production of this academic work. I am thankful, as well, to Professor Tim Niblock and Professor Anoush Ehtishami for their constructive comments on this thesis. Last but not least, I am deeply grateful to those who shared their precious time while I was doing my fieldwork in Saudi Arabia during (Spring, 2008) including: - HRH Prince Turki Al-Faisal Al-Saud (Head of King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies). - HE Ambassador Dr. Yousef Al-Saadon (Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic and cultural Affairs). - HE Ambassador Dr. Jamil Merdad (Head of Islamic Department). - HE Ambassador Dr. Raaed Qarmali (Saudi Foreign Ministry, Head of West Europe Department). - HE Dr. Saleh Al-Namlah (Deputy Minister of Culture and Information for Foreign Information). - HE Dr. Saleh Al-Namlah, Deputy Minister of Culture & Information for Foreign Information). - HE Dr. Talal Dhahi (Member of Al-Shura Council). - HE Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi (Member of Al-Shura Council). -Professor Matrouk Al-Faleh (Department of Political Science, King Saud University). - Dr. Saleh Al-Khathlan (Department of Political Science, King Saud University). - Dr. Ibrahim Al-Muhanna (Saudi Petroleum Ministry). - Dr. Ahmad Al-Ghamdi (Saudi Petroleum Ministry). - Dr. Muhammad Al-Muhanna (Al-Shura Council). - Mr. Mustafa Kawthar (Saudi Foreign Ministry, Head of Asian Department). - Mr. Yuan Yuan (Chinese Embassy in Riyadh). - Mr. Jaser A. Al-Jaser (Al-Jazirah Daily). May God bless them all vi Abstract This study attempts to offer the first full-length account of the major dynamics and factors that contributed to shaping the Saudi-Chinese relationship during the period between (1949-2006). The Riyadh-Beijing relationship offers an unusual example in International Relations field since it has undergone various phases that started by a mutual political enmity and went through an extended process of confidence building with a reciprocal drive to construct a complementary strategic partnership. These phases have been divided throughout this study into eight distinctive periods. This study argues that Sino-Saudi relationships during the 57-year period were subject to the influence of various factors including those of systemic-security, normative ideological and economic complementary nature. It has been argued that the 41-year Saudi-Chinese political rupture was a product of a combination of systemic-security and identity-ideological factors that worked together to prevent Saudi Arabia and China from having diplomatic relations between (1949-1990). It has been, also, argued also that the reforms of 1978 as well as the pragmatisation of China's foreign policy, the improvement of the conditions of Chinese Muslims along with the resumption of Chinese hajj missions, and the indirect Sino-Saudi cooperation in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union and then the arms deal in 1986 have played an important role in normalising Riyadh-Beijing political relationship. It has been emphasised that the emergence of the potential strategic partnership between the two countries was a natural outcome of their economic, political and security complementary relationship that surfaced since the middle 1990s and that such relationship has benefited from the deterioration of US-Saudi relationship in the aftermaths of 9/11. Saudi-Chinese relationship in the 21st century, it was argued, offers a comprehensive strategic partnership in all fields after two sides have found that what combines them is far more than what divides them and that they could be of much importance for each other in the years to come. This promising relationship would probably enhance China's political and strategic presence and role in the Middle East and might negatively influence the Western traditional predominant position in this important region. vii List of Abbreviations AFP Agence France Press ANM Arab Nationalist Movement AP Associated Press CCP & CPC Chinese Communist Party CIA & IAC Chinese Islamic Association CMC Central Military Commission CR Cultural Revolution CPPCC Chinese People Political Consultative Conference CSCCI Council for Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry DCA Dhofar Charitable Association DSO Dhofar Soldier's Organisation FLD & DLF Front for the Liberation of Dhofar GCC Gulf Cooperation Council GSFMO Grain Silos and Flour Mills Organisation KACST King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology KSA Kingdom of Saudi Arabia MNAC Minorities Nationalities Affairs Committee NDFLOAG National Democratic Front for the Liberation of Oman NLF National Liberation Front OIC Organisation for Islamic Conference PDRY People's Democratic Republic of Yemen PFLO Popular From for the Liberation of Oman PFLOAG Popular Front for the Liberation of Occupied Arab Gulf PLA People's Liberation Army PLO Palestinian Liberation Organisation PRC People's Republic of China PRSY People's Republic of South Yemen ROC Republic of China SAGIA Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority SANLF Saudi Arabia National Liberation Front SCMP South China Morning Post SPA Saudi News Agency SSTC State Science and Technology Commission STC Saudi Telecommunication Company WOT World Trade Organisation WML World Muslim League YAR Yemen Arab Republic viii List of Tables (Table 1) Bilateral Trade Exchange between the KSA & the PRC (1980-1985) p. 136 (Table 2) Bilateral Trade Exchange between the KSA & the PRC (1985-1990) p. 161 (Table 3) Bilateral Trade Exchange between the KSA & the PRC (1991 -1997) p. 198 (Table 4) Bilateral Trade Exchange between the KSA & the PRC (1998-2000) p. 219 (Table 5) Bilateral Trade Exchange between the KSA & the PRC (2000-2006) p. 263 List of Figures King Faisal's World View.. , p. 31 ix TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 1 INTRODUCTION AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 1 1.1. OBJECTIVES AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1 1.2. IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY 2 1.3. LITERATURE SURVEY 3 1.4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 5 1.5. OUTLINE OF THESIS 9 1.6. AN INTEGRATED THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 12 1.6.1. Neorealism 14 1.6.2. Neoliberalism 20 1.6.3. Social Constructivism 25 1.7. CONCLUSION 34 CHAPTER 2 35 CONFLICTING IDENTITIES: SAUDI-CHINESE RELATIONS (1949-1964) 35 2.1. ENGAGING HISTORY: RELATIONS BETWEEN REPUBLICAN CHINA AND THE SAUDI MONARCHY, (1937-1949) 36 2.2. SINO-SAUDIRELATIONSHD? IN THE WAKE OF THE COMMUNIST ASSUMPTION OF POWER IN 1949 39 2.2.1. Saudi Arabia: The Spiritual Homeland 40 2.2.2. Saudi Arabia in Mao's Doctrine 40 2.2.3. The Saudi Negative Response: Conflicting Identities 42 2.3. THE PRC'S QUEST TO GAIN THE SAUDI RECOGNITION: WIELDING CHINA'S MUSLIM CARD 43 2.3.1. The Bandung Conference and Chinese Diplomacy of Hajj Missions 47 x 2.4. THE IMAMAMAT WAR AND THE BURAIMI OASIS INCIDENTS: AN EPISODIC POLITICAL CONVERGENCE ...49 2.5. AN UNMISTAKABLE INCOMP AT ABILITY (1957-1964) .53 2.5.1. The Decline toward Crisis: China's Muslim Communities in the Late 1950s 53 2.5.2. Genuine Contradictions 55 2.6. Conclusion ..........59 CHAPTER 3 , , 61 THE PREDOMINANCE OF IDEOLOGY AND THE RADICALISATION OF CHINA'S FOREIGN POLICY (1964-1972) 61 3.1.