Foreign Ministry: China is willing to strengthen communication and dialogue with Saudi Arabia, Iran, and other countries in the region.

On the 4th, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning, while answering a reporter’s question regarding Saudi-Iranian relations and the situation in the Middle East and the Gulf region, stated that in light of the current escalation of tensions in the Middle East, China is prepared to strengthen communication and dialogue with regional countries, including Saudi Arabia and Iran. The immediate priority is to prevent the resumption of conflict in the Middle East, which would harm the people of the region.

During a regular press conference that day, a reporter asked: Saudi Arabia’s National Security Advisor Musaad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban and Ali Bagheri, Deputy Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, both visited China recently. What is China’s view on Saudi-Iranian relations and the situation in the Middle East and the Gulf region?

Mao Ning stated that Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, recently met separately in Beijing with the officials from Saudi Arabia and Iran responsible for national security affairs. They held in-depth exchanges of views on the situation in the Middle East and the Gulf region. China believes that stability in the Middle East and the Gulf region is not only vital to the well-being of the countries and peoples in the region but is also of great significance to safeguarding international energy supplies and maintaining global peace and security. Given the current escalation of tensions in the Middle East, China is willing to strengthen communication and dialogue with regional countries, including Saudi Arabia and Iran. The urgent task is to avoid a new outbreak of conflict in the Middle East that would affect the local population.

Mao Ning noted that China will continue to be guided by the series of initiatives and proposals put forward by President Xi Jinping for promoting peace and security in the Middle East. Upholding an objective and impartial stance, China supports Iran and the United States in resolving their disputes through negotiation, advocates for a political solution to the issue in Yemen, and contributes to the development of a sound and comprehensive solution regarding the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. China hopes that regional countries will adhere to the principles of mutual respect and good-neighborly friendship, work together to build a new regional security architecture—one that is common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable—and achieve long-term peace and stability in the region.

“Both Saudi Arabia and Iran highly appreciate the initiatives and proposals put forward by President Xi Jinping to promote peace and security in the Middle East. They have expressed their willingness, in the spirit of the ‘Beijing Agreement,’ to maintain dialogue and communication with all parties, and they welcome China’s continued constructive role,” Mao Ning said.