Thread by @JesCMarks

In Nov 2022, the International Department of the #CCP Central Committeee hosted its 3rd political dialogue with the #Arab world. It featured participation from more than 80 Arab parties from 17 countries, including Egypt, Algeria, Lebanon, and Palestine.

Why it matters?

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#Beijing has also made tangible gains in the South Mediterrnian region through political outreach. The $CCP actively cultivates ideological and political supporters in the SoMed region in support of the state’s evolving approach to political governance. 1/

These occur through a variety of direct political party-to-party exchanges and trainings with political elites in the region. Such programs include the #China-Arab Political Parties Dialogue & other platforms for engaging and influencing young and rising political leaders. 2/

The China-Arab Political Parties Dialogue (CAPPD) platform, launched in 2016 and held every two years,
has become the principal platform for political exchanges between the CCP and Arab political parties. 3/

Each year, the CAPPD convenes China’s CCP Central Committee representatives with leaders of Arab
political parties from across the region. In previous events, Arab political leaders received hands-on CCP leadership training and education in core CCP theory. 4/

The dialogue enables #Beijing to directly cultivate influence with emerging political leaders across the region and align their priorities with Chinese global and regional interests. The first two dialogues (2016, 2018) were hosted by the #CCP's International Department. 5/

And, as a result of COVID-19, the latter two (2020, 2022) were hosted as hybrid events with large-scale online participation from a broader range of Arab political parties. 6/

This 2022 meeting, occurring shortly following the 20th CCP Plenary, enabled party officials to preview outcomes rom the 20th Plenary and priorities for the next five years directly to Arab political elites. 7/

Representatives of #Arab political parties in attendance praised China and the #CCP for their governance of China and expressed an interest in strengthening political dialogue and training with the Chinese government and the CCP. 8/

Attendees included:
Algerian Amb to China Hassane Rabehi
Speaker of the Algerian Assembly Salah Goudjil
Algerian National Liberation front
Egyptian Communist Party
Lebanese Communist Party
Lebanese-Chinese Dialogue Association
PFLP & Fatah
Yemen's General People's Congress
9/

The engagement builds on #China's 2016 PRC exchange commitment to the Arab World: In 2016, the PRC committed to an expanding P2P diplomacy through exchanges with the Arab League, including the SoMed region through the “Hundred, Thousand, Ten Thousand” program. 10/

This program outlined cultural, academic, and political initiatives, including the annual exchange of 100 scholars and experts, training for 1000 young Arab leaders drawn from across the MENA region, and delegation visits for 1,500 leaders from #Arab political parties.

In sum, direct CCP outreach in the MENA has enabled them to cultivate political influence among local Arab parties & elites. While it has gained support from predictable partners (Algeria, Egypt, Palestine), it has failed to draw in others in the region.

kas.de/documents/2824…

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