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China-Middle East relations
ChinaDiplomacy

China vows closer Iran ties on multilateral forums in first meeting since latest Israel-Gaza war

  • Gaza tragedies ‘have increased the instability of the Middle East’, Fars quotes Chinese Premier Li Qiang as telling Iranian official on SCO margins
  • China’s interactions with Iran are in global spotlight over Beijing’s likely ability to prevent a spillover of Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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Chinese Premier Li Qiang with Iran’s First Vice-President Mohammad Mokhber in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Thursday. Photo: Xinhua
Zhao Ziwen
China will boost coordination with Iran on multilateral platforms such as the United Nations, SCO and Brics, Premier Li Qiang said, as senior leaders of the two countries met for the first time since the latest Israel-Gaza war broke out.
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Li, China’s No 2 official, made the comments during talks with Iranian First Vice-President Mohammad Mokhber on the margins of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meetings in Bishkek on Thursday. Their meeting in the Kyrgyz capital came three months after Iran became the ninth full member of the Beijing-led, security-focused bloc.

China’s interactions with Iran have attracted international attention amid speculation over whether Beijing – which earlier this year mediated a rapprochement between long-standing adversaries Iran and Saudi Arabia – might be able to help prevent a spillover of the latest escalation in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Tehran has been a long-term supporter of Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah. However, it has denied involvement in Hamas’ deadly October 7 cross-border attack on Israel that triggered Israeli air strikes, artillery shelling and tank raids into Hamas-controlled Gaza.

Iranian media said Li and Mokhber touched upon the Gaza conflict in their talks, quoting the Chinese premier as expressing Beijing’s interest in “more coordination with Tehran” while calling for Islamic countries to “work together to de-escalate tensions”.

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