Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi (center) attends the closing event of the Beijing dialogue on March 10, 2023, flanked by Musaad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban (left), Saudi national security adviser, and Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. (PHOTO BY WANG JING / CHINA DAILY)
Experts have explained the credit given to China for helping Saudi Arabia and Iran resume diplomatic relations.
They said that Beijing continues to play a crucial and constructive leadership role in the quest for world peace, demonstrating China's position as a major power.
As a trusted and honest broker in ending the impasse between Saudi Arabia and Iran, China has enabled Riyadh and Teheran to realize that despite their differences, they have much in common, the experts said.
Moreover, these commonalities will benefit those who have long sought leadership to develop the region's potential and accommodate its diversity, they added.
In an agreement announced by China, Saudi Arabia and Iran on Friday, the two Middle Eastern countries agreed to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies and missions within two months.
Chinese entrepreneurs attend the First World Defence Exhibition in 2022 in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
The fact that (Saudi Arabia and Iran) have accepted China as their trusted broker shows that both sides believe in China's capacity and genuine intentions to help reduce the temperature in the region.
Ebrahim Hashem, former adviser to the chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office and former head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company's strategy division
The agreement ended a seven-year rift between Riyadh and Teheran, triggered after Saudi Arabia executed prominent Shia Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr in January 2016.
Ebrahim Hashem, former adviser to the chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office and former head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company's strategy division, said, "The fact that (Saudi Arabia and Iran) have accepted China as their trusted broker shows that both sides believe in China's capacity and genuine intentions to help reduce the temperature in the region."
By approaching Beijing and officially referring to the "noble initiative" of President Xi Jinping, Saudi Arabia and Iran are "giving credit to China, and the way the agreement was announced shows that both sides "believe in China's positive contribution to regional and global stability", Hashem said.
"The agreement that has been brokered by and announced from Beijing sends a clear message to the world that the Middle East is not the exclusive sphere of influence of anybody and that regional players have the agency and ability to hold their fate in their own hands," said Hashem, who is also a visiting scholar at the University of Hong Kong's Asia Global Institute.
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Farhan Mujahid Chak, associate professor of political science at Qatar University, said China played a crucial role in bringing the two countries together by "acting as an honest broker and pragmatically offering incentives to both nations".
In this undated file photo, pilgrims to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, take a journey last year on a Chinese-built light rail system. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
The zero-sum and prejudicial policies that plague the region (the Middle East) have not contributed to peace, prosperity or progress. Therefore, it was only a matter of time for the leaderships of both countries (Saudi Arabia and Iran) to realize that despite all their differences, they have much in common, and working together will benefit everyone.
Farhan Mujahid Chak, associate professor of political science at Qatar University
"China's Belt and Road Initiative is ambitious and extraordinary. It can only get stronger with Iran and Saudi Arabia on board," Chak said, adding that the initiative also shows the "increasingly global leadership role exemplified by China".
"The zero-sum and prejudicial policies that plague the region (the Middle East) have not contributed to peace, prosperity or progress. Therefore, it was only a matter of time for the leaderships of both countries (Saudi Arabia and Iran) to realize that despite all their differences, they have much in common, and working together will benefit everyone," Chak said.
The trilateral statement issued on Friday said Saudi Arabia and Iran had held talks to resolve their differences through dialogue and diplomatic means, to abide by the purposes and principles of the Charters of the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and to follow international regulations and practices.
The two countries also extended their appreciation and thanks to Chinese leaders and the Chinese government for hosting, supporting and contributing to the success of the talks, the statement said. They also thanked Iraq and Oman for hosting several rounds of dialogue in 2021 and last year.
Saudi Arabia and Iran have a long and complex history of rivalry primarily fueled by religious, political and economic differences, as well as a struggle for regional influence and power. They have also been involved in conflicts in Syria and Yemen.
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Quest for stability
Deniz Istikbal, an economics researcher at the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research, a think tank in Ankara, Turkiye, said that China, which has invested more than $200 billion in Western Asia, has taken a stand for stability in the region.
"This stand draws attention to bilateral relations and cooperation. Compared with other players, China is striving to stabilize the region," Istikbal said.
"As in Africa, China's power and influence are growing in the Middle East. However, there are too many competing players in the region. As a global player, China stands apart from others by taking a stand for diplomacy."
An Iranian student submits a work about China during a painting contest in Teheran, capital of Iran, in January 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan told Arabic-language media organization Al-Arabiya that the rapprochement was the result of two years of talks.
Mehran Kamrava, a professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar, said: "I don't think anyone saw this coming, especially not through Beijing. All eyes have been on the 'Baghdad track' and the discussions underway in Amman, Jordan, under the auspices of French diplomacy."
This stand draws attention to bilateral relations and cooperation. Compared with other players, China is striving to stabilize the region," Istikbal said … As in Africa, China's power and influence are growing in the Middle East. However, there are too many competing players in the region. As a global player, China stands apart from others by taking a stand for diplomacy.
Deniz Istikbal, an economics researcher at the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Kamrava, also head of the Iranian Studies Unit at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, said the announcement from Beijing is a major diplomatic breakthrough on several fronts, as it significantly reduces tensions in the Persian Gulf and stabilizes the region.
The breakthrough also marks a further decline in US diplomatic power in the region, and the assertion of strategic autonomy by China, Saudi Arabia and Iran, Kamrava said.
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"This will also likely have positive consequences for Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria, where Iran and Saudi Arabia have used different means to compete for influence and power," Kamrava added.
Seyed Mostafa Khoshcheshm, former professor at the Iranian Foreign Ministry's Faculty of International Relations, said that since Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi took office, his main agenda has focused on improving foreign trade, and this could only be done by de-escalating tensions with regional rival Saudi Arabia.
After his visit to China last month, during which he met with President Xi, Raisi said his trip had been "successful and fruitful".
Khoshcheshm said, "On his recent visit to Beijing, President Raisi asked his Chinese counterpart to take a more assertive stance and mediate between the two sides after Iran and Saudi Arabia had four rounds of talks in Baghdad at the initiative of the Iraqi government."
Also professor at the Fars News Media Faculty at the University of Applied Science and Technology in Teheran, Khoshcheshm said, "The latest round of (Saudi-Iranian) talks demonstrated a more assertive stance by the Chinese on the world stage."
A Saudi visitor takes the driver's seat in a Chinese-made vehicle during an auto show in 2022 in Riyadh. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
Mehmood Ul Hassan Khan, executive director of the Center for South Asia & International Studies in Islamabad, Pakistan, said China's increased presence in the Middle East will create "win-win" situations for all
Wang Jin, associate professor at the Institute of Middle East Studies at Northwest University in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, said China plays a crucial external role in the Middle East, which is what countries in the region want to see.
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The tripartite statement highlights the importance of dialogue in achieving peace, Wang said, adding, "China's concept of peaceful diplomacy will increasingly gain recognition globally, and will also make significant contributions to regional and international peace."
Mehmood Ul Hassan Khan, executive director of the Center for South Asia & International Studies in Islamabad, Pakistan, said China's increased presence in the Middle East will create "win-win" situations for all.
"It seems that China will also continue to play a constructive role in properly handling regional and international (disputes) in accordance with the wishes of all countries, and demonstrate its responsibility as a major power," he added.
Zhao Ruinan in Beijing contributed to this story.