How China's Communist Party seeks to win friends and influence through Mideast political groups
From brokering a deal between rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran to offering to intervene in the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, China's diplomatic efforts in the Middle East have raised Beijing's profile as a player in the region. These efforts have been at the state level and carried out through the Chinese foreign ministry and state leaders. But China has also been engaging the region on another level, attempting to promote its own governance model as an alternative to the West by fostering engagement