Diplomatic relations restored after 7 years in Beijing after Xi Jinping confirmed third consecutive term
NYT “The US, which was the center of Middle East diplomacy, has become a bystander”
Wang Yi (center), a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, presided over talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran in Beijing on the 10th, followed by Saudi national security adviser Musad bin Muhammad Al-Aiban (left), the representative of the negotiations between the two countries. , taking a commemorative photo with Ali Shamkhani, chairman of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council. Shinhwa Yonhap News
Observations are emerging that the geopolitical situation in the Middle East is being reorganized as it is known that China’s mediation was behind Iran and Saudi Arabia’s agreement to normalize relations after seven years. This is because China has taken the place of the United States, which has been a mediator in the Middle East for decades. It has also been pointed out that this is an example of the decline in US influence in the Middle East and the diplomatic failure of the US government Joe Biden.
Foreign media such as the New York Times (NYT) and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 11th (local time) that the world diplomatic landscape is changing as China overturns the Middle East diplomatic landscape that has been led by the United States and China acts as a mediator. The WSJ interpreted, “While the United States is preoccupied with Ukraine and Asia, the Middle East is overcoming old divisions, and external powers other than the United States are competing to secure influence.” The NYT analyzed, “The United States, which played a central role in Middle East diplomacy, quickly became a bystander, and China, which had not played a major role in the region, has transformed into a new power player.”
Earlier, on the 10th, Iran and Saudi Arabia announced in a joint statement that “the two countries have agreed to restore diplomatic relations and reopen embassies in the other country within two months.” It has been seven years since diplomatic ties were severed following the 2016 execution of a Shia cleric by Saudi Arabia.
In particular, the world’s attention was focused on the fact that the agreement to normalize relations between the two countries was reached in Beijing, China, where the National People’s Congress (NPC) was held, where President Xi Jinping’s third consecutive term was confirmed. At the moment when the negotiators of the two countries held hands, Wang Yi, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the head of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, was in the middle.
Diplomatic experts and foreign media interpret it as a symbolic event in which China showed off its presence in the Middle East diplomatic arena. While Russia, an ally of Iran, and the United States, an ally of Saudi Arabia, are preoccupied with the war in Ukraine, China has shrewdly emerged as a key player in the region.
Some point out that the Biden government is a diplomatic failure. Dr. Jonathan Fulton of the Atlantic Council, a US think tank, told AFP that it was a “diplomatic victory for China.” In particular, while the United States, which is hostile to Iran, has recently moved away from Saudi Arabia, China’s position as the largest importer of Saudi crude oil and Iran’s largest trading partner gives China an advantage.
Experts predict that China’s position in the diplomatic arena will grow in the future. John Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a US think tank, told Archyde.com, “The recognition of China’s growing power and influence shows that the United States’ position on the world stage is shrinking.” is emerging as a powerful ‘diplomatic presence’ on the world stage.” Phan Hongda, a professor at Shanghai University of Foreign Studies, also predicted, “If relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran improve, other Middle Eastern countries will have more expectations from China, and China is more likely to resolve difficult issues in the Middle East.”