China's Middle East policy has been analysed in this study as an interaction between continuity and change. Apparently, the considerable changes in this policy, particularly the transformation of the Cultural Revolution's radicalism, which won China almost universal hostility, into the moderation of recent years, which won China almost universal respect, could very easily be misinterpreted as opportunism. Yet to understand China's Middle East policy only in terms of these changes would be totally misleading.

One of the main conclusions of this study is the rather remarkable continuity and consistency of China's fundamental attitudes towards the Middle East. From a very early stage, even before they seized power, let alone established relations with Middle Eastern countries, the Chinese had revealed a considerable interest in the Middle East situation. This interest stemmed from the belief that the Chinese revolution was not an isolated phenomenon but a part of a world-wide historical trend. Therefore, China's enemies were also the enemies of the rest of the world, particularly the colonial and semi-colonial countries, and they all shared the same common interest: the struggle against imperialism and outside intervention, and for independence.

Thus, despite the changes in China's Middle East policy, at any given time China's primary, continuous and long-term interest in the Middle East has been to encourage and support opposition to hostile global powers. To some extent, this interest has been even more important than gaining formal diplomatic recognition although, in China's view, recognition of the PRC certainly implied opposition to imperialism and increased independence.