Why Qatar’s links to Islamist groups worry Beijing
With China facing its own fight against extremism, Doha’s backing of a host of radical organisations is a source of unspoken concern for China’s leadership
As Qatar’s diplomatic crisis continues to unfold, the tiny Gulf country’s intricate ties with Islamist groups have caused unease in China, which faces its own fight at home against extremism.
Beijing has long been concerned about the influence of Islamist extremism spreading from countries such as Syria and Afghanistan into China’s northwestern Muslim-majority region of Xinjiang.
Accusations by Qatar’s Arab neighbours that Doha is destabilising the region with its support for Islamist groups may echo Beijing’s unspoken concerns about Qatar, Chinese analysts said.
Doha’s repeated strong denials of such claims have been met with scepticism amid the perception that Qatar has been a key financial patron of a host of extremist groups, including an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, Muslim Brotherhood and ISIS.
Qatar has also been home to exiled Hamas official Khaled Mashaal since 2012.
Pan Guang, a Middle East expert with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said Qatar’s alleged links to these extremist groups has been a source of unease for Beijing.