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Source: http://www.atimes.com/china-israel-return-cloverleaf-world/
Israel on China's New Silk Road
(Asia Times-Hong Kong) Christina Lin - In 1581, Heinrich Bunting, a German cartographer, portrayed the world as comprised of the three continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa, which converged in Jerusalem. This world is converging with China's silk road integration project. With the rise of Salafi-jihadism in the Middle East increasingly threatening China's overseas citizens and assets, especially their maritime trade via the Suez Canal, Israel is emerging as a strategic node on China's southern corridor on the New Silk Road. Concerned over the presence of ISIS, al-Qaeda and other Islamic extremist groups in Sinai threatening China's maritime trade, China is building a "steel canal" through Israel to connect the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea that bypasses the Suez. The emergence of Israel as a Mediterranean energy player, its continued stability, robust military in a neighborhood of unstable and weakening Arab states, and outreach to the Eastern Hemisphere by joining the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization, is slowly creating a new regional and international system of shared interests. Dr. Christina Lin is a Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at SAIS-Johns Hopkins University.