Giorgio Cafiero CEO and co-founder of Gulf State Analytics, a Washington, DC-based geopolitical risk consultancy
Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat Ph.D researcher and freelance journalist
Last month at the China-Arab Cooperation Forum in Doha, Chinese
Foreign Minister Wang Yi postulated that Qatar should take part in the
realization of China’s Silk Road Initiatives. Considering Qatar as a key
partner to promote the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) project, which Chinese
President Xi Jinping initiated in 2014, Yi said that the initiative
shares common cooperative opportunities with the Qatar National Vision
2030, a future development roadmap launched by Doha in 2008.
To this end, China hopes to strengthen bilateral relations with Qatar
in economic, political and cultural spheres. This, however, is not the
first time China took a step in courting Doha to help in implementing
its OBOR projects. Last year, China decided to establish a Renminbi
Clearing Centre in Doha, which was the first financial institution in
the Middle East to offer access to Chinese currency and foreign exchange
markets. This move is crucial as one of the most important steps taken
by China to abet the Silk Road Initiatives is the establishment of the
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which among its goals is to
expand the use of Chinese currency.
It should come
as no surprise that China is making its way to Qatar, particularly with
respect to the establishment of the Silk Road Initiatives. Despite China
leading the initiatives, it is impossible for Beijing to do everything
alone; international participation and contributions are needed.
Therefore, it is logical for China to turn to Qatar for a significant
role.
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