At the press conference of the Chinese Foreign Ministry on the 15th, some media were worried about whether China, which is in East Asia, will be involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran.
A reporter from China-Arab Satellite TV asked, "If Israel continues to attack Iran and the scale of the war expands, will China worry about being drawn in?"
Spokesman Lin Jian replied in 26 words: "China calls on relevant parties to remain calm and exercise restraint to avoid further escalation of tensions."
This is not the first time that the Chinese Foreign Ministry has responded to this round of conflicts. At 11:05 a.m. on Saturday, four hours after Iranian drones and missiles arrived in Israel, he expressed China's position in the form of "answering reporters' questions", that is, spokesman Lin Jian's statement, while pointing out: "This round of escalation is the latest manifestation of the spillover of the conflict in Gaza." The top priority is to earnestly implement UN Security Council Resolution 2728 and calm the conflict in Gaza as soon as possible. China calls on the international community, especially influential countries, to play a constructive role in maintaining regional peace and stability."
Resolution 2728 was the first resolution adopted by the Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, with 14 members of the Security Council, including China, voting in favor and the United States abstaining.
In China's statement, Israel and the United States were not named, but it is self-evident who is responsible for the spillover of the Gaza conflict and who the "influential countries" refer to.
Foreign Minister Abdollahian took the initiative to have a phone call with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the evening of the 15th, saying that the UN Security Council did not make the necessary response to the attack on the Iranian embassy in Syria, and Iran has the right to respond in self-defense against its sovereignty.
Abdollahian particularly emphasized the nature of the "self-defense response". At the same time, he directly stated to the Chinese side that he is willing to exercise restraint and has no intention of further escalating the situation, which is completely consistent with China's views.
"China strongly condemns and resolutely opposes the attack on the Iranian Embassy building in Syria and believes that this incident is a serious violation of international law and unacceptable," Wang Yi said. Both China and Iran have experienced the tragic experience of the bombing of their embassies, and from this perspective, the two countries are the most likely to resonate.
In particular, Wang Yi noted that China noted that Iran's actions are "limited" and that it is exercising its right to self-defense, and expressed appreciation for Iran's emphasis on not targeting neighbors and regions. At this sensitive juncture, Iran's point-to-point restraint has been appreciated by the Chinese foreign minister, and this appreciation is worth a thousand dollars. More importantly, Wang Yi expressed his trust in Iran, which is able to grasp the situation and safeguard sovereignty and dignity without aggravating instability.
Another noteworthy phone call was a phone call between Wang Yi and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal, which was at 00:06 on the 16th, and it is reasonable to judge that he spoke with the Saudi Foreign Minister immediately after the phone call with the Iranian Foreign Minister, which is of great significance to convey Iran's attitude and intentions to Saudi Arabia, and at the same time express China's views and positions.
Like Iran, Saudi Arabia's stance on resolving the issue through diplomatic means has also won Wang Yi's appreciation.
If Israel is planning to retaliate against Iranian territory, it has options such as drones, missiles and warplanes. But all need to cross Jordanian, Saudi and Iraqi airspace. In particular, fighter jets on a mission, in the absence of open airspace from neighboring countries, could not achieve an air strike on Iran. Even if Jordan sided with Israel, it would not help.
When Israeli warplanes knocked out Saddam's nuclear reactor, they flew over Jordanian and Saudi airspace. This time, Saudi Arabia's statement of "solving the problem through diplomatic means" seems to be a prosaic sentence, but it is actually a promise, and the subtext is that Israeli warplanes will not be allowed to use Saudi airspace to strike Iran, which is a reassuring pill for Iran and a solemn commitment to China. Even if Jordan allows Israel to use its airspace, Israel's options for a military strike against Iran are severely limited if Saudi Arabia and Iraq refuse.
The statement made by the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran to Wang Yi has actually answered the question of the reporter of China-Arab Satellite TV, Iran has a spectrum in his heart, Saudi Arabia knows how to do it, and China does not have to worry about being involved.
From this perspective, a year ago, under the mediation of China, Saudi Arabia and Iran achieved a great reconciliation, and Foreign Minister Wang contributed a lot.
Many people did not see its significance at the time, but it is clear at this moment that if Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran are still mortal enemies today, Saudi Arabia may be "borrowed" by Israeli warplanes, and now this channel has been blocked. From this point of view, it avoids the involvement of more countries in the region and makes it much less likely that China will be involved. That's why we have to make so many friends.