China steps up Middle East diplomacy with Iran and Oman

China has stepped up its diplomatic engagement on the Middle East conflict, with senior officials holding separate meetings in Beijing on Monday. Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, while President Xi Jinping hosted Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq on a state visit. Beijing also announced that its special envoy on the Middle East, Zhai Jun, will travel to Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia this month.

Wang told the Iranian official that dialogue and negotiation remained "the only viable path forward" as conflicts in the region "drag on and risk further spillover". He also reaffirmed China's support for Iran's sovereignty and security. Beijing has blamed the United States and Israel for starting the conflict, and the meetings suggest a renewed effort to re-enter regional diplomacy after what observers described as a period of limited activity.

Xi said the Middle East and Gulf "should not become an arena for great-power rivalry and geopolitical conflict". He described ties with Oman as being at a "new historical starting point". The visit was significant because Sultan Haitham is the first Omani head of state to visit China since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1978.

During the visit, China and Oman signed 14 cooperation documents covering areas including artificial intelligence and green energy. The diplomacy comes as China seeks to balance its economic interests with the wider regional fallout from the US-Israel war on Iran. China is one of the world's largest energy importers, and Oman sits across from Iran on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway that has long been central to global energy flows.

Before the war restricted traffic, one-fifth of global energy exports passed through the strait, underlining why stability there matters to Beijing and other major importers. China's role in the region has drawn attention because it is a major trading partner of Iran and the biggest customer for Iranian crude. That gives Beijing leverage, but also exposes it to the consequences of prolonged conflict and disruption.

The latest meetings suggest China wants to be seen as more active in efforts to encourage dialogue, even as it continues to frame the crisis in terms of opposition to US and Israeli actions. What remains unclear is whether the renewed contacts will produce any immediate diplomatic breakthrough. The planned visits by Zhai Jun to Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia may offer a clearer indication of how far Beijing is prepared to go.

For now, the meetings point to a broader Chinese attempt to reassert itself in Middle East diplomacy while the war and its spillover risks continue.

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