China has just signed on to a five-point proposal for peace in the Middle East. But it will not take on a leading role in ending the Iran war.
Why Beijing stays on the sidelines
China and Pakistan yesterday proposed a five-point initiative calling for a ceasefire in the Iran war; the start of peace talks as soon as possible; an immediate halt to attacks on non-military targets; safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz; and a recognition of the primacy of the United Nations Charter.
China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, said after a meeting in Beijing with his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, that Beijing welcomed Islamabad’s role in attempting to mediate between the United States and Iran.
Dar came to Beijing directly after meeting foreign ministers from Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt in a quadripartite formation that could prove central to securing peace. China supports these efforts and although Beijing has clearly identified the US and Israel as the aggressors and Iran as the victim in the current conflict, the five-point initiative calls for restraint from both sides.
“China and Pakistan call on parties to the conflict to immediately stop attacks on civilians and nonmilitary targets and fully adhere to International Humanitarian Law (IHL), and stop attacking important infrastructure, including energy, desalination and power facilities, and peaceful nuclear infrastructure, such as nuclear power plants,” it says.
“The Strait of Hormuz, together with its adjacent waters, is an important global shipping route for goods and energy. China and Pakistan call on the parties to protect the security of ships and crew members stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, allow the early and safe passage of civilian and commercial ships, and restore normal passage through the Strait as soon as possible.”
Asserting that dialogue and diplomacy represent the only viable option to resolve conflicts, the proposal says that the “sovereignty, territorial integrity, national independence and security of Iran and the Gulf states should be safeguarded”, adding that all parties should refrain “from the use or the threat of use of force during peace talks”.
The final point says that a comprehensive peace framework should realise “lasting peace based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and international law”.
China does not see itself as a mediator in the Iran war and the five-point initiative is less a peace plan than an attempt to open a procedural space that Pakistan and other middle powers can use for a shared consultative process. This reflects China’s broader diplomatic approach, which holds that peace is not imposed by an external authority but must emerge from mutual recognition of sovereignty and security interests.
This is fundamentally different from the western model of intervention that sees liberal powers as “adults in the room” with a responsibility to make and enforce peace between warring parties by means of coercive diplomacy.
China frequently uses economic and diplomatic coercion in pursuit of its own interests, but it has no ambition to replace the US as the world’s policeman or to export its political system and values.
China’s restraint in the current conflict reflects its complex relationships in the region, which include important economic links with the Gulf states as well as a strategic partnership with Iran. Beijing is also conscious of Donald Trump’s visit to China, now rescheduled for the middle of next month, and the delicate negotiations on trade and other issues under way with Washington.
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