China and the UAE

In a way this isn't news at all, since anyone who's been paying attention knows that China has been focusing closely on building up its presence in the Gulf. Still, reinforcing what we already know, here's a piece in this morning's The National of Abu Dhabi about China's concentrated interest in the UAE.

Admittedly, though, it's way down the web page from the lead, the Jonas Brothers' concert in Abu Dhabi. (And yes, with a 10-year-old daughter, I do know who they are.)

Somehow I think China's role in Abu Dhabi will last longer than the Jonas Brothers.

Qataris to Buy Raffles in Singapore: From Saudis. What Would Kipling Think?

I'm a sucker for colonial era hotels of the late British Empire. I usually can't afford to stay in them, but they're fine for tea or drinks; I regret that the original Shepheard's in Cairo was burned down back in 1952 when I was not yet in first grade, but I've enjoyed visits to the King David in Jerusalem, the Old Winter Palace in Luxor, the Old Cataract in Aswan, and, much farther afield, the Peninsula in Hong Kong and Raffles in Singapore. At the Writer's Bar at Raffles there are, or at least were in the late 1980s, pictures or caricatures of Rudyard Kipling, Joseph Conrad, Somerset Maugham and other folks who sat there writing while nursing their drinks (I suspect something like a Pimm's Cup, though I don't think I've ever tasted one, and the article linked below notes that the Singapore Sling was invented at Raffles), and at the Long Bar, you can picture the British Empire's satraps at their peak. (Kipling: "Send me somewhere East of Suez, where the best is like the worst, where there ain't no Ten Commandments and a man can raise a thirst . . . ")

Well, it looks like the Qataris, or at least a Qatari investment firm, are about to buy a majority share in Raffles. And, if I understand the report correctly, they're buying it from a Saudi investment group that has the controlling interest currently. The Saudis have owned the Long Bar and the Writer's Bar? Who knew? It's Waleed ibn Talal, or one of his many enterprises, apparently.

What would Kipling think?

And I know, those friends of mine who claim I blog too much about bars will feel justified again, though of well over a thousand posts, this will be only the sixth on bars. So there.

China and the Middle East

Occasionally, commentary and events seem to coalesce to make a theme particularly timely. Sometimes, they seem to be almost insistent because a whole lot of postings/links/comments seem to center on a single theme. Current case in point: China and the Middle East.

In June MEI published my colleague and MEJ Book Review Editor John Calabrese's Policy Brief, "The Consolidation of Gulf-Asia Relations: US Tuned in or Out of Touch?", which I plugged previously. This is, if not John's primary scholarly focus, certainly one of them. He knows it as well as anybody, I think.

This week, China launched its first Arabic-language television news service, which, since already on Monday Marc Lynch posted a good summary on the subject, I didn't note specifically, figuring if you're reading me, you've been reading Marc Lynch a lot longer. And Lynch alluded to a lot of other issues relating to this, including the whole Uighur/Central Asian issue, in passing.

Then, synchronicity and coincidence being what they are, an old acquaintance from a long time back — who, since he hasn't authorized me to quote him, I will simply call "Larry," since that's his name — and who spent a career in international banking mostly in Bahrain and Hong Kong, and thus might be considered informed on the subject, sent me a message saying:

I hope the appearance of John's article on the website is a harbinger of the Institute focusing on this issue - perhaps with a speech (maybe at the annual conference) and maybe with a focus in the Journal.

Okay, I'm starting to feel like there's an emerging theme. Over at the Blog Jihadica there's a post on a new issue of the "Islamic Turkistan Journal" on events in Chinese Turkistan. (Excuse me, Xinjiang.)

Then I got a submission for the Middle East Journal on the subject of Kuwait's relations with the Far East. Confidentiality means I can't identify the author.

Then, yesterday, my wife sends me a link to this article, "The Rise of a New Silk Road," dealing with China and the Middle East.

Okay, Okay, I get it. China and the Middle East is a major issue. As it happens, China and the Middle East are intertwined in my own life as well: my daughter is Chinese; and as you've already figured out I've spent a little time around the Middle East.

So I've done the post. Whatever higher power is loading me down with input on East Asia and the Middle East, here it is.

UPDATE: Don't miss comment #1 below, which is extended, anecdotal, and far more informed on the subject than I am.