China Steps Up Middle East Diplomacy as Xi Hosts Oman Sultan and Wang Meets Iran Official

Photo: Xinhua via CCTV

China moved back into the middle of Middle East diplomacy on Monday. Foreign Minister Wang Yi met a senior Iranian security official in Beijing, President Xi Jinping hosted Oman's sultan for a landmark state visit, and Beijing said its Middle East envoy will tour Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia this month.

The day had two tracks running side by side. One was about the war between the United States, Israel and Iran, now in its ninth month. The other was about China and Oman, and the trade and energy ties that link them through the Strait of Hormuz.

Al Jazeera reported that Wang told Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, that dialogue and negotiation remained the only viable path forward. He also reaffirmed China's support for Iran's sovereignty and security, and Beijing has consistently blamed the United States and Israel for starting the conflict.

Dawn reported that Wang later met Saudi National Security Adviser Musaad bin Mohammad al-Aiban as well, and called for dialogue to end the conflict while safeguarding regional energy security and the safety of shipping lanes. Dawn's report, citing AFP, notes the meetings came days after US President Donald Trump issued a fresh war threat, saying the United States still had to take care of one or two targets in Iran.

The Oman visit carried its own weight. Xi received Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, the first Omani head of state to visit China since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1978. Haitham arrived in Beijing on Sunday for a two day visit.

Xi told him the Middle East and Gulf should not become an arena for great power rivalry and geopolitical conflict. Oman sits across from Iran on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which about a fifth of global energy exports passed before the war restricted traffic. For China, one of the world's largest energy importers, that makes Oman a key partner, and Al Jazeera noted that many of Oman's ports lie outside the strait itself.

The visit produced paperwork as well as words. China and Oman signed 14 cooperation documents, covering areas including artificial intelligence, green energy and supply chains, along with a currency swap agreement. In a joint statement, they called for safe navigation to resume through Hormuz and urged the United States and Iran to restart dialogue.

For readers in Pakistan, this matters in a direct way. Any step that calms the Hormuz route touches fuel prices and shipping costs at home, and Pakistan has itself been pressing for de-escalation between the United States and Iran, including through Field Marshal Asim Munir's visit to Tehran. The wider shipping crisis has already been felt far beyond the Gulf, as the UN warned that the Hormuz disruption is hitting harvests and pushing food prices higher, and Tehran has hardened its own line, as seen when Iran ruled out US talks until its demands are met.

China's own reporting from Beijing was frank about why this push is happening now. Al Jazeera's correspondent in Beijing said China's diplomacy on the war had stalled for weeks or even months, and that Monday's meetings showed Beijing growing impatient with the lack of progress and wanting to be seen entering the process.

The key figures:

• 14 cooperation documents signed by China and Oman
• 1978, the year China and Oman established diplomatic relations
• 3 countries on envoy Zhai Jun's tour this month: Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia
• About a fifth of global energy exports passed through Hormuz before the war restricted traffic

Sources

• Al Jazeera, China steps up Middle East diplomacy with Iran and Oman meetings
• Dawn (AFP), China calls for Middle East dialogue in talks with Iran, Saudi Arabia, Oman
• Geo News (Reuters), China's Xi says Middle East should not become battleground for great power rivalry

What happens next is envoy Zhai Jun's tour of Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia later this month, and whether it turns Monday's meetings into real talks.

#China #MiddleEast #Iran #Oman #Hormuz #Diplomacy #WorldNews