By Shannon Tiezzi
China sends an envoy to Riyadh and Tehran to discuss the latest flare-up in tensions.
China is watching the growing tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran nervously, hoping not to jeopardize relations with either of the two major oil exporters. Beijing is even taking tentative steps to try and ease the situation by sending a diplomatic envoy to both Riyadh and Tehran, though China’s preference is to steer far clear of the sectarian tensions in the Middle East.
On January 2, Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shia cleric, Nimr al-Nimr; angry protestors in Iran then attacked the Saudi embassy, setting it ablaze. After that, Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran, and Somalia, Bahrain, Djibouti, Qatar, and Sudan followed suit (the UAE also downgraded its relations with Iran). On Thursday, the stakes increased again, as Iran accused a Saudi-led coalition of hitting its embassy in Yemen during an air strike.
Amid the tensions, China sent Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Ming to Saudi Arabia and Iran for an exchange of views on the regional situation, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying. Hua said Beijing was also communicating with other relevant countries. “We hope that the situation in the Middle East will ease up,” Hua added.
China has repeatedly expressed its concern that the current situation “may sharpen regional disputes,” as Hua put it in a press conference on Monday. “We hope that relevant parties would enhance communication and act as one on the issue of counter-terrorism,” she said.
Read the full story at The Diplomat