BEIJING: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (pic) called on Iran to pay attention to the "reasonable concerns” of its neighbours, after Tehran’s retaliation against US and Israeli attacks included strikes on other Gulf nations.
Wang at the same time reaffirmed China’s support for Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to a readout statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
Wang made the comments in a phone call Monday (March 2) with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the statement said.
Iran can maintain social stability under the current "severe and complex” situation while considering neighbours’ concerns, Wang told Araghchi.
"China values the traditional friendship between China and Iran and supports Iran in safeguarding its sovereignty, security, territorial integrity and national dignity,” Wang said.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been among those to criticise Iran’s attacks across the region.
"China’s Middle East strategy centres on balancing its relationships with all major regional players and maximising business opportunities,” said Neo Wang, lead China macro analyst at Evercore ISI in New York.
"Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are all more important to China from a trade and investment perspective than Iran.”
Araghchi told Wang that Iran has no hostility toward the Gulf countries and is determined to continue relations based on good neighbourliness with them, according to a post on the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s official Telegram account.
The Iranian foreign minister also said his nation’s defensive response targeting US military bases in some Persian Gulf states shouldn’t be viewed as an attack on those countries - but rather "as a legitimate response to the source of the aggression.”
Beijing and Tehran in 2021 signed a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” agreement to upgrade their bilateral ties. China has also welcomed Iran into multinational associations that it champions, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the BRICS group.
Wang, in a separate phone call with Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, said the urgent priority is to immediately stop military operations and prevent the conflict from further spilling over.
He added that any expansion of the war wouldn’t serve the fundamental and long-term interests of Gulf countries, according to a Chinese government readout.
Wang also separately told French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot that China hopes to work with France to promote de-escalation in the Middle East and jointly uphold the basic norms of international relations.
Beijing has criticised the US and Israeli military action against Iran, warning that it risks plunging the Middle East into deeper instability and undermining international law.
During a call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Sunday, Wang said China opposes the use of force in international relations and described the attacks on Iran and the killing of the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as "unacceptable.” - Bloomberg
