China steps up Middle East diplomacy with Iran and Oman meetings
Beijing urges dialogue on US-Iran war, sends envoy to Gulf as Xi hosts first Omani head of state visit since 1978.
China is stepping up its diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, including over the US-Israel war on Iran, following a lapse in activity.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday met a senior Iranian security official in Beijing, while President Xi Jinping hosted Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq for a landmark state visit.
Wang told Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, that dialogue and negotiation remained “the only viable path forward” as conflicts in the region “drag on and risk further spillover”.
Reflecting the step up in activity, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday that Zhai Jun, Beijing’s special envoy on the Middle East, will visit Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia this month.