China urges Iran and Saudi Arabia to work together to ‘avoid miscalculation’ as diplomats meet on restoration of ties

South China morning post

Published: 4:00pm, 17 Dec, 2023

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for deeper cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Iran to “avoid miscalculation” as diplomats from the Middle Eastern states met in the Chinese capital for the first time since a Beijing-brokered deal to normalise relations between the two.

During the talks with Saudi deputy foreign minister Waleed Elkhereiji and his Iranian counterpart Ali Bagheri Kani on Friday, Wang also renewed Beijing’s call for “an immediate ceasefire” in the Israel-Gaza war.

“China has always stood by Arab and Muslim countries and supported the restoration of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. The most urgent task is to promote a ceasefire in Gaza, to stop the war, to promote humanitarian assistance, and to resume the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations,” state news agency Xinhua quoted Wang as saying.

China’s Wang Yi urges coordination with Iran in call to discuss Israel-Gaza war

12 Dec 2023

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (seen left, in November 2023) spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian (right, October 2023) in a phone call on Monday December 11, 2023, amid fears that the Israel-Gaza war could spill out into a second front on the Lebanon border. Photos: AFP/EPA-EFE, SCMP composite

The meeting was the first of the China-Saudi Arabia-Iran joint committee, a dialogue mechanism to support Riyadh and Tehran’s normalisation process.

“It is hoped that the two sides will continue to enhance mutual trust through dialogue and consultation, and achieve a lasting and comprehensive good-neighbourly friendship,” Wang said.

Under former foreign minister Qin Gang’s watch in April, Saudi Arabia and Iran announced the normalisation of diplomatic relations seven years after they were severed. The agreement was brokered by China and was widely seen as a sign of Beijing’s ambition to influence the region beyond economics.

Riyadh-owned Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said China expressed its readiness to continue playing a constructive role and its support for the Saudi and Iranian sides to strengthen ties.

SPA also reported that the talks covered the reopening of the two countries’ embassies and mutual visits by their foreign ministers.

The two countries exchanged ambassadors in September. Riyadh and Tehran have officially invited each other’s leaders to visit, with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi having accepted an invitation from Saudi Arabia.

According to Xinhua, Wang said Saudi Arabia and Iran should strengthen trade, security, personal exchanges and negotiations to avoid “miscalculation”.

The two countries should also “eliminate external interference” from their relationship, he said in a pointed reference to the United States, a long-time ally of Saudi Arabia but Iran’s rival.

“The Middle East can no longer become a geopolitical arena for the global powers, and the fate of the Middle East should be in the hands of the peoples of the countries of the region,” Wang was quoted as saying.

“I believe that Saudi Arabia and Iran are fully capable of removing external interference promptly and pushing the reconciliation process forward to maintain long-term peace and stability in the region.”