Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao sits with Sultan bin Mohammed al-Qassimi, the ruler of Sharjah, part of the United Arab Emirates, at the China-Arab Business conference on Jan. 18. (Marwan Naamani/AFP/Getty Images)

NEWS ANALYSIS

On his current trip to the Middle East, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao took the opportunity to make positive remarks about the Arab Spring democracy protests while visiting countries that may be future sources of oil for China as the threat of U.N. sanctions loom over Iran—one of China’s current major oil suppliers.

Wen arrived in Saudi Arabia on Jan. 14 and will be in the region until Jan. 19, after he completes official visits in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. His visit will be aimed at boosting the Chinese regime’s influence in the region and coincides with the fifth World Future Energy Summit, which Wen attended.

The day after arriving, Wen made what observers regarded as carefully calculated support for the Arab Spring democracy movements that swept North African and Middle Eastern countries in 2011.

“China calls for the end to any violence toward citizens and supports the demand of reform from citizens in relevant countries,” Wen said. The statement was made in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 15, after meeting Ekmeleddin Hsano Lu, the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, according to Xinhua, the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party.

The remarks, which appeared in a short Xinhua report, but were otherwise not widely reported, may seem puzzling coming from the premier of a regime that has ruthlessly crushed the buds of a Jasmine revolution in its own country.

But it makes sense geopolitically, according to Chen Pokong, a commentator with the New York-based New Tang Dynasty Television.

“The Chinese Communist Party wants to increase its influence in this region, and his remarks fit in with the political picture there at the moment. They [Chinese leaders] say one set of words internally and another externally.”

He also thinks that Wen may be taking the chance to show his disagreement with the CCP’s relatively mild response to the Syrian government’s violent crackdown on protesters. “Wen often makes remarks to international media seemingly at odds with what the CCP is doing,” Chen said.

Despite the fact that the three countries Wen is visiting are themselves authoritarian states, they were openly critical of the response of countries like Syria and Libya to protests, and supported NATO’s bombardments in the latter country.

Chinese netizens observing the diplomatic dance were unimpressed with the regime’s apparent double-faced approach to citizen protest and calls for democracy.

“Wen said that he supports the demand for reform from citizens, so how will the Wukan issue be dealt with?” one user asked, referring to protests in a village in southern China that expelled Communist Party officials who had been involved in land grabs. Wukan protesters were spared violent reprisal from the regime, but their land complaints have yet to be resolved.

Chinese media reported the news of Wen’s visit in a low-key manner; major websites carried terse Xinhua wire copy, indicating that other reporting may have been restricted, while searches for “Wen Jiabao Arab Spring” were restricted or entirely blocked.

“The CCP wishes to set up favorable relationships with potential new partners in the Middle East,” Chen said. “I think the focus here is oil.”