CHINA'S APPROACHES TO THE UN'S ROLE IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION IN THE MIDDLE EAST DURING THE COLD WAR

Abstract

The article examines the development of China's position on UN involvement in conflict resolution in the Middle East. In particular, it investigatesthe impact of the transformation of foreign policy concepts on the approaches of official Beijing toward UN peacekeeping activities in theMiddle East during the Cold War. In the 1950s and 1970s, Mao Zedong's view of the UN as a political tool for the superpowers to pursue their interestsin the world was largely grounded on ideology. That said, the article argues that the position of China between 1950 and 1970 reflected certaindualism, namely a negative perception of the UN with a clear desire to become a member of this international organization. Eventually, the changesin China's foreign policy goals from revolutionary to more realistic ones designed to facilitate reforms in the country led to a radical shift inBeijing's position on UN peacekeeping in the Middle East. The study interrogates key elements of China's position on the Middle East conflict in the1970s and 1980s in the Security Council after China gained UN membership in 1971.Keywords: China, UN, Middle East, conflicts, conflict resolution.