China launched a 24-hour Arabic-language television service on Saturday. Though this project has been in the planning for a long time, there is little doubt that Beijing has felt the need to get over its own side of the argument as a result of the recent violence among ethnic Uighurs, which has shocked and saddened fellow Muslims throughout the world.
The Chinese are also aware that as with Tibet, the often critical comments have been led by other international broadcasters, such as CNN, the BBC and Al-Jazeera. It clearly believes that by mixing entertainment with programs of news and comment, it will project a more positive and even benign image of China and its singular economic expansion.
In this respect, the new TV station is to be welcomed, though it has to be said in an already crowded market, the Chinese Arabic TV service will have to win its place on its entertainment as well as informational basis. Arabic-speaking viewers will be as cautious of accepting its take on global affairs as they are on the broadcasts of CNN and the BBC, even though both these organizations make much of their absolutely independent editorial control.
Despite such protests, it is inevitable that any broadcaster is going to reflect the values and outlook of its home country. Therefore, the new Arabic service from China may be of consummate interest to us here in the Middle East because it can be expected to give us a greater understanding of the way the Chinese are viewing the challenges we face in the region. It may indeed prompt a closer Chinese engagement, which in principle cannot be seen as unwelcome.
China is in the process of matching its substantial new economic power with a markedly more prominent place in world affairs. This may not be entirely welcome in North America and Europe but it is impossible to imagine how China could avoid moving increasingly center stage geopolitically. As an addition to its existing English-language broadcasts, the Arabic station almost certainly represents the importance with which Beijing regards the Arab world, not simply as an attractive market for goods and services but also as a location for major new investments.
It may indeed be significant that the new Arabic service precedes the launch later this year of a Russian-language station. This is also likely to be extremely interesting but for different reasons. The Russians have proved extraordinarily xenophobic. In particular there has been widespread anger at Chinese immigration into the east of the country in the last decade. Yet with a falling birth rate and declining life expectation, Russia needs new people to work millions of hectares of farmland uncultivated since Communist collectivization collapsed. Maybe the new Russian-language Chinese service will help convince Russians immigrant labor will actually benefit both countries not threaten Russian jobs.
The wider perspective, however, is that China now recognizes the need to engage internationally, not simply to get its own message across but also to try and deepen outside understanding of its remarkable history and achievements.
