Why can China do it?
Author: Fu Yumei
They shook hands in Beijing and surprised the world.
On March 10, the People's Republic of China, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran issued a trilateral joint statement (hereinafter referred to as the "Statement") in Beijing.
The three countries announced that Saudi Arabia and Iran have reached an agreement, including an agreement to restore diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies and representative offices within a maximum of two months; Emphasizing respect for the sovereignty of States and non-interference in the internal affairs of other States; The two sides agreed to meet the foreign ministers of the two countries to start the above work, arrange for the exchange of ambassadors, and explore strengthening bilateral relations.
Highlights: First, Saudi Arabia and Iran finally resumed diplomatic relations after 7 years of hostility; Second, this was mediated and done in China by China.
Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the CPC Central Committee, introduced the significance of the dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Iran in Beijing: "This is a victory for dialogue and peace, providing major good news and sending a clear signal for the current turbulent world. ”
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs website
Reconciliation of wronged families,
Meaningful
Saudi Arabia and Iran, a pair of well-known "bitter rivals" in the Middle East.
The two countries severed diplomatic relations in 2016. That year, Saudi Arabia executed a well-known Shiite religious figure, triggering protests from the Iranian side, escalating the conflict, and Shai severed diplomatic relations.
In the years of negotiations that followed, the resumption of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran was full of twists and turns, often showing signs of reconciliation, turning around and falling out, and once on the brink of war.
During 2021 and 2022, officials from the two countries held several rounds of dialogue through Iraq and Oman with a view to improving bilateral relations. Although the domestic situation in Iran once affected the dialogue and negotiation process, overall relations between the two countries are improving.
But why is reconciliation always twisted and turned? Because it's really difficult – there are both internal factors and external interference.
Qian Feng, a researcher at the National Institute for Strategic Studies of Tsinghua University and a senior researcher at the Taihe Think Tank, told Global People that for a long time, the contradictions of the four major ethnic groups in the Middle East have been complicated and intertwined, coupled with the provocation and use of external powers, the security dilemma in the Middle East is difficult to solve, and often waves of unevenness have risen one after another, seriously affecting regional peace and stability.
Among them, Saudi Arabia, as an important country in the Arab world and the Sunni "leader", has sharp contradictions with Iran, which is dominated by Shia Muslims. This has also become one of the root causes affecting peace and security in the Middle East.
In Saudi Arabia's view, after the "Islamic Revolution", Iran has long been committed to expanding its influence, and in recent years, it has taken advantage of changes in the regional situation to actively build a Shiite alliance, accelerate the comprehensive integration of Shiites in the Middle East, and break the original balance of power in the region.
In Iran's view, the long-term intervention and attempt by the United States to control the Middle East, sow contradictions among all parties, and fully support Israel is the most important external source of peace in the region, and Saudi Arabia, as an ally of the United States, is also responsible for this.
After so many years of going back and forth, relations between the two countries urgently need to be normalized.
China came out.
According to the statement, the talks were held in response to the President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping's positive initiative on China's support for the development of good-neighborly and friendly relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
From March 6 to 10, Saudi Arabia's minister, cabinet member, and national security adviser Moussai bin Mohammed al-Aiban and Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani led Saudi and Iranian delegations for talks in Beijing.
The five-day dialogue did not announce or disclose any details, directly blowing up a blockbuster result.
Shai will not only announce the resumption of diplomatic relations, but will also activate the cooperation agreements reached in 2001 and 1998.
In the past, the wronged family shook hands and made peace, which is of great significance.
"As two major countries in the Middle East, Shai has great influence in the region, and the relationship between the two countries is the main line of many contradictions in the Middle East, so once a reconciliation is reached, it will promote the settlement of a series of contradictions in the Middle East." In the future, the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East is expected to usher in a reshuffle and reconstruction, of course, in a positive direction. Ding Long, a professor at the Middle East Institute of Shanghai Overseas Chinese University, told Global People.
In addition, Qian Feng also believes that when the world is shrouded in the cloud of escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the easing of relations between the two countries and the further easing of the situation in the Middle East have not only added highlights to the international security situation, but also added confidence to human society.
In this way, China quietly completed a major event in the history of diplomacy.
Why China?
So why is China able to do it?
Ding Long said that as for the mediation of the Shai conflict, China first has its own advantages.
In the Middle East, China has no historical grievances with any country, maintains good relations with both countries, and always adheres to a fair position, which is the guarantee of becoming a "mediator".
Second, the Global Security Initiative proposed by China can serve as a compass for calming and resolving conflicts.
China has always been a mediator on hotspot issues. Moreover, China's mediation always promotes peace talks, is fair and pragmatic, and seeks to cure both the symptoms and the root causes. The same is true of China's mediation and outreach in the Middle East.
China's Gulf Security Framework and initiatives to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict reflect these characteristics. And the diplomacy of the head of state has attracted the attention of the world.
In December 2022, President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to Saudi Arabia and attended the "Three Ring Summits" between China and Saudi Arabia, China Shipping and China-Arab States.
Last month, at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Raisi paid a state visit to China last month.
"It is no coincidence that most of the positive events related to the Middle East in the past few months have involved China, but reflects the growing recognition of the Middle Eastern powers represented by Shai through sincere mediation since China proposed the Global Security Initiative." Qian Feng said.
Wang Yi stressed that the Beijing dialogue was advanced on the basis of the consensus of the leaders of the three countries, and President Xi Jinping clearly supported it from the beginning. The dialogue has also become a successful practice of the Global Security Initiative.
Screenshot of the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
"China has both ideas and actions to ultimately bring about this reconciliation of the century." Ding Long said.
International recognition,
But someone soured
The results of the Shai Beijing dialogue have aroused great concern from international public opinion.
Iraq, Oman, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, Bahrain and other countries welcomed the resumption of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a statement through a spokesman thanking China for facilitating dialogue, and the good-neighborly friendship between Saudi Arabia and Iran helps promote stability in the Gulf region.
Many foreign media have mentioned the benefits brought by the incident, affirmed China's role in it, and recognized it as China's "diplomatic victory".
"Moving in the right direction." Reuters commented on the resumption of diplomatic relations between Shai and Shai in a report on the 10th.
Christian Coates Ulriksson, a political scientist at the Baker Institute at Rice University, said that "China's handling of this issue (equivalently) sends a strong signal at a time when the United States is getting tougher on Iran."
Agence France-Presse quoted several commentators as saying that in addition to the regional impact of the event, the way it came about was more significant because it was mediated by China.
The website Russia Today (RT) commented that this is "a major diplomatic victory for China."
At the same time, the attitude of some American media is very "sour".
The Wall Street Journal said that the resumption of diplomatic relations by the Shai represents "China's diplomatic victory in the geopolitical region dominated by the United States for a long time" and may complicate the work of the United States in the region.
CNN quoted a senior scholar, Hussein Ibiš, as saying, "This does seem to recognize China's unique role in facilitating relations between Tehran and Riyadh, [but] it would not particularly please Washington if it were not for the United States."
The US "Business Insider" website was more explicit, saying that the move showed that China's influence in the Middle East was increasing, while the United States was weakening, and that "this agreement is equivalent to a slap in the face to Biden."
The American "acid" is not difficult to understand. "For many years, the United States has been trying to cobble together an 'anti-Iran coalition' in the Middle East for its own interests, which is also an important reason for the tension between the two countries in the past. China, on the other hand, brokered reconciliation. Ding Long said.
Ding Long also said that in the Middle East, the United States and China intervene in different ways and goals.
"The United States usually 'pulls one faction against another', builds allies and enemies, provokes contradictions and instigates confrontation, thereby achieving remote control of the situation in the Middle East. On the other hand, China maintains good relations with Shaydu and promotes the development of bilateral relations and the situation in the Middle East in the direction of peace and stability. ”
In Qian's view, China's successful "constructive engagement" mediation diplomacy has enabled the two regional powers to turn foes into friends.
It is self-evident which of these two very different approaches is more conducive to the stability of the Middle East and the world at large.
Whether the United States is happy or not, in short, their "lest the world not be chaotic" will not work.
China's statement has been consistent. Wang Yi said that as a goodwill and reliable mediator, China has faithfully fulfilled its host duties. We will continue to play a constructive role in properly handling hot issues in today's world in accordance with the wishes of all countries and demonstrate our responsibility as a major country.
Director system: Lv Hong
Producer: Zhang Jiankui
Editor-in-chief: Xu Chenjing
Editor: Su Rui Lingyun
(The article shall not be reproduced without authorization, please add WeChat "HQRW2H" to understand the details.) You are welcome to provide news clues, which can be sent to the email [email protected]. ）