The 'Arab Spring' Seen from Beijing

How has the << Arab Spring >> been interpreted in China? The authorities in Beijing were taken by surprise by the sudden regime changes in the Middle East, and feared that the unrest would inspire their own opposition and lead to unrest in China too. They saw obvious similarities between the situation in China and that in the Middle East prior to the Arab Spring. Chinese politicians and analysts have since pointed to several reasons for the uprisings, including lack of political reforms, nepotism and corruption, uneven distribution, unemployed young people in cities, the spread of the Internet and Western intervention. Contrary to Western analysis, Chinese studies put less emphasis on the importance of civil society, a genuine multi-party system, and civil military relations. With regard to the consequences of the Arab Spring, Chinese analysts are in general far more negative than their Western colleagues. The unrest is claimed to have undermined stability in the Middle East, which in turn has hurt the region's economic development and created more room for Islamist movements.