Chinese FM witnesses resumption of Saudi Arabia-Iran diplomatic ties in Beijing
Global TimesApr 06, 2023
Following China's mediation of a deal to restore relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia last month, the foreign ministers of both nations met in Beijing on Thursday for the first formal gathering of their top diplomats since 2016, when relations between the two countries became highly contentious.
This meeting was capped by an announcement that diplomatic ties will be formally restored, regional stability will be a major priority, and economic cooperation will be pursued.
China has just proven that the US style of creating conflict to pit nations against one another is no way to achieve regional peace anywhere, let alone in the Middle East. These nations are fed up with war, and China has offered them an opportunity to slip out from under the thumb of the US and engage in legitimate, autonomous diplomacy with a different global power. This is the beginning of a new era, one in which countries don't have to cower in the face of Western might just to build economic success.
While it does seem that China's goals in the Middle East are limited to energy and economic relations, what Beijing hasn't yet faced are the dire security problems that come with doing business in the region. Words like "common interests" and "political dialogue" are all good in theory, but only time will tell if Beijing can achieve these lofty goals in the face of rising militant groups and sporadic conflict.
There's a 53% chance that Saudi Arabia will normalize relations with Israel by 2031 if Iran does not get a nuclear bomb by then, according to the Metaculus prediction community.