Diplomasi Perdamaian China di Timur Tengah: Kepentingan Strategis dan Stabilitas Kawasan
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Abstract
Penelitian ini menganalisis transformasi diplomasi perdamaian China di kawasan Timur Tengah dalam perspektif Soft Power dan Neorealisme. Studi ini berfokus pada dua kasus utama, yakni mediasi rekonsiliasi Arab Saudi–Iran tahun 2023 dan fasilitasi Deklarasi Beijing antara Fatah–Hamas tahun 2024. Penelitian menggunakan metode kualitatif deskriptif dengan pendekatan studi literatur serta analisis data sekunder dari publikasi akademik dan statistik perdagangan The Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) periode 2010–2023. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa peningkatan signifikan volume perdagangan China dengan Timur Tengah—mencapai sekitar US$460 miliar pada 2023—telah memperkuat daya tawar politik Beijing di kawasan. Dalam konflik antarnegara (inter-state) seperti Arab Saudi–Iran, diplomasi China terbukti efektif karena didukung leverage ekonomi dan ketergantungan energi yang tinggi. Sebaliknya, dalam konflik intra-negara yang melibatkan aktor non-negara seperti Fatah–Hamas, efektivitas diplomasi cenderung bersifat normatif dan simbolik akibat keterbatasan instrumen penekan yang mengikat. Temuan ini menegaskan bahwa aktivisme diplomatik China bukan semata-mata didorong oleh idealisme perdamaian, melainkan oleh kalkulasi rasional untuk mengamankan kepentingan strategis, khususnya keamanan energi dan keberlanjutan Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Secara teoretis, penelitian ini memperlihatkan bahwa China menerapkan strategi soft balancing untuk menyeimbangkan hegemoni Amerika Serikat tanpa konfrontasi militer langsung. Dengan demikian, diplomasi perdamaian China menjadi instrumen penting dalam membentuk stabilitas kawasan sekaligus memperkuat posisinya sebagai kekuatan besar alternatif dalam tatanan dunia multipolar.
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