OpinionWhen it comes to the Persian Gulf, China’s top priority is economics
Beijing’s refusal to pick sides between Iran and other Gulf states affirms its strategic positioning rather than a desire to shift paradigms
On the Gulf specifically, Wang stated that “the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Iran and all countries in the Gulf region should be respected and must not be violated”, a phrasing deliberately vague on whose territory should be respected. At a press conference on March 10, spokesperson Guo Jiakun declined to confirm whether Zhai Jun’s mediation would involve the US and Israel.
While it has criticised the US and Israel for initiating hostilities, Beijing avoids committing to either side. When it comes to Iranian reprisals on its neighbours, China has struck a meeker tone, stating that Gulf nations’ territorial integrity should be respected without specifying by whom, a formulation that reads as principled neutrality that functions as a deliberate refusal to assign responsibility.
The mediation effort follows a familiar template in which China dispatches an envoy, calls for dialogue and positions itself as the responsible alternative to US unilateralism. This fits into the same model China used to help broker the Saudi-Iran rapprochement, which Beijing facilitated after Oman and Iraq had done the preliminary work.