When asked about the meaning of the Chinese dream by a group of 14 European journalists paying their respects at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese invaders, last week, I explained that in order to understand the birth of the State of Israel one needs to learn and understand the history of European anti-Semitism, the birth of modern Zionism, and the Holocaust. To understand the struggle of the Palestinians today one has to learn the events that led to the Naqbah.

And to understand the term "Chinese dream" coined by the current leadership, one has to learn about the imperialist invasions of China, from the Opium Wars that started in 1840, through the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, until the Japanese invasion from 1931 to 1945.

Collective memory of the "century of humiliation" determines much of China's approach toward all nations.

For the same reason, China voted against military intervention in Syria, recalling that when China was weak, plenty of high-sounding reasons were given for interfering in it. For China, helping Syria to stand up against the West is not about who is right or wrong, it is about China helping to prevent the imminent invasion and division of Syria.

In the case of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, while the US tilts more toward the protection of Israel's interests, China tilts more toward helping the Arab side. This is because in Chinese eyes, the State of Israel was established by allying with the imperial powers of its times, first with the British Empire, then with the Soviet Union, and finally with the US, while the Palestinians suffered from imperialism.

Similar historical experiences determine China will stand with the side that has lost land, in this case, the Palestinians. Chinese also favors the Palestinians due to reciprocity, for instance the Arab countries' support for China in the international arena in the 1960s to 1970s after the Bandung Conference, when China was isolated by the animosity of the West.

US President Barack Obama's unwillingness to commit too many US resources to the Middle East for fear of being dragged into another war is causing US influence in the region to diminish rapidly. 

In contrast, public and private sector investment and trade between China and Middle Eastern countries have grown exponentially each year for the past decade. 

China considers regional stability in the Middle East necessary for its energy security and the uninterrupted growth of bilateral trade.

China is exploring options to formulate a more proactive role and develop policies that benefit both China and its regional partners.

Some analysts point out that China is playing with the possibility of sharing the US role as a maintainer of order in the region.

These efforts started with rhetoric and small bilateral testing steps to gauge the reaction of the international community. The simultaneous state visits of both Mohammad Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this year were part of this. Close collaboration with the Russians over Syria is another.

When more and more of these measures are taken without much meaningful feedback from the US indicating objection, China will be able to push the envelope even further.

So far, China has proved successful in helping the UN to stop a US invasion of Syria, in attempting to solve the chemical weapon problem, and in searching for a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Perhaps a more confident China can someday also persuade the Israelis and Palestinians to move beyond the fixation on the Holocaust and Naqbah, put hatreds aside and enact the two state solution, which is the only sustainable choice for both parties.

The author is director of the Center for Middle East Peace Studies at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn