On April 12, 2024, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, to leverage Beijing’s influence over Tehran during their meeting.[1] Wang, on the other hand, called on the United States to play a “constructive role” in the Middle East.
After the airstrike on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus, the capital of Syria, on April 1, 2024, which resulted in the deaths of several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders, including two generals, China strongly condemned the attack and called for respect for the sovereignty of Iran and Syria.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning added, “China will continue to play a constructive role in resolving the Middle East issue… and contribute to the cooling down of the situation.”[2] As of my last update in January 2022, Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by several countries, including the United States, Israel, the European Union, and others.
Following Iran’s retaliation against Israel by launching unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles, China expressed “deep concern” over the escalation in the region. China, which seeks to play a mediating role and provides an increasingly significant portion of energy imports in the Middle East, faces a broader threat of conflict. The Chinese Foreign Ministry stated in its April 14, 2024 announcement regarding the matter:[3]
“China calls on the relevant parties to remain calm and exercise restraint to prevent further escalation of tension. China urges the international community, especially influential countries, to play a constructive role in maintaining regional peace and stability.”
As a reminder, in 2023, China mediated between Iran and Saudi Arabia and also made significant efforts to calm the crisis in the Red Sea. In this context, China urged Iran to use its influence over the Houthi militias to end attacks on ships in the Red Sea. Otherwise, Beijing warned that its relations with Tehran would deteriorate.
Chinese experts believe that Tehran’s retaliation following Israel’s bombing of the Iranian diplomatic mission in Syria is “limited” in nature. They also emphasize that retaliatory actions by Israel could escalate tensions and potentially draw the United States into another Middle East crisis.[4] Indeed, Israel targeting Iran could be a strategic move to involve the United States in the crisis. However, Washington has indicated that it will not support Israel in such an attack.
Due to the support the United States has provided to Israel in the United Nations Security Council, the conflict in Palestine has not yet ended. Therefore, it is believed that the United States is not sincere in its efforts to calm the crisis in the Middle East. China expects the United States to support efforts to calm the crisis on the United Nations platform instead of unilaterally supporting its ally Israel. In such a situation, it does not seem realistic or sincere for the United States to ask China to use its influence over Tehran. While Washington tries to resolve the crisis in the Middle East on one hand, it also expects Beijing to contribute more to regional peace. Indeed, Western allies, while pressing Israel to reduce tensions, also need Beijing’s assistance. This situation highlights the international community’s search for support from China for peace in the Middle East.
Considering China’s political, economic, military, and energy ties with Middle Eastern countries, it can be argued that China is one of the major powers willing to contribute the most to regional peace. Indeed, it is worth emphasizing that China has become Iran’s largest trading partner in the past decade. Similarly, around 90% of Iran’s oil exports are directed to China. In this sense, Iran is heavily dependent on China to overcome U.S. sanctions.
However, unlike the West, China is not inclined to use such instruments as a means of pressure. Instead, it prioritizes supporting diplomatic initiatives. While China does indeed have genuine concerns about the risks posed by a broader conflict to investments and trade in the region, especially regarding energy agreements, it believes that the root cause lies in the conflict in Gaza.[5] Therefore, China argues that the real solution lies in the United States restraining Israel.[6]
As a result, it is crucial for the United States to withdraw its unilateral support for Israel in the war in Palestine, rather than relying on China’s influence over Iran. If key actors in the UN Security Council, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, are convinced to end this war, the tension between Iran and Israel will naturally ease. Thus, the West will not find itself in need of assistance from China.
[1] “Antony Blinken asks China, others to rein in Iran on Israel”, Times of India, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/knowledge-centre/us/antony-blinken-asks-china-others-to-rein-in-iran-on-israel/articleshow/109230188.cms, (Date of Access: 15.04.2024).
[2] Ibid.
[3] “China ‘deeply concerned’ about escalation after Iran strikes Israel”, Reuters, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/china-deeply-concerned-about-escalation-after-iran-strikes-israel-2024-04-14/, (Date of Access: 15.04.2024).
[4] “China calls on relevant parties to exercise calm and restraint as Iran launched military strike against Israel”, Global Times, https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202404/1310569.shtml, (Date of Access: 15.04.2024).
[5] “Can China play a role in avoiding an all-out war in the Middle East?”, CNN, https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/15/china/china-israel-iran-mediator-intl-hnk/index.html, (Date of Access: 15.04.2024).
[6] Ibid.
