China's Foreign Policy in the Arab World, 1955-75

Taylor & Francis

China\u2019s foreign policy in the Arab world is important because it reflects China\u2019s general foreign policy. In this study, first published in 1981, the author draws upon a wealth of previously unpublished and inaccessible material to analyse Chinese attitudes in three cases: the two Arab liberation movements, the Palestine Resistance Movement and the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Oman, and the established and independent State of Kuwait. Since the Arab liberation movements played a significant political role within their fields of operation, it was necessary for China to decide whether these movements did actually fit in with Chinese foreign policy objectives. Dr Behbehani\u2019s analysis of these two case studies provides the basis for a discussion of whether China\u2019s motives in supporting the liberation movements are theoretical or purely practical. China\u2019s support for Kuwait\u2019s political internal continuity is related to the stability of the whole Gu.