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Middle East
OpinionComment
Mohammed Sinan Siyech
Mohammed Sinan Siyech

Opinion | Iran-Saudi accord shows China’s growing Middle East influence via diplomacy, trade and security

  • China has slowly increased its presence in the region in the past two decades through rising trade, foreign aid, infrastructure projects and more
  • The Iran-Saudi peace deal builds more credibility in the Middle East for China and will aid its efforts to strengthen ties in the region

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Mohammed Sinan Siyech
Saudi Arabia and Iran have announced they will re-establish full diplomatic relations and reopen embassies seven years after ties were severed. With China brokering the deal, after hosting and sponsoring the talks, it is pertinent to examine Beijing’s role in the breakthrough and what it says about China’s position in the Middle East.
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While the Middle East has been roiled by conflicts and skirmishes, the cold war between Iran and Saudi Arabia has been one of the overarching rivalries in the region, given their support for various groups opposed to each other.

Historically speaking, Iran and Saudi Arabia were allied until the Iranian revolution in 1979, when new ruler Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called for the teachings and experiences of the revolution to be exported to all Muslim nations, including Saudi Arabia. Since then, relations have progressively deteriorated.

Over the past decade, the two nations’ role in funding and arming opposing factions of the Yemeni civil war worsened relations significantly. Ties hit rock bottom after Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy following Riyadh’s execution of a Shia cleric. As a result, both nations shut their respective embassies.

In the past year or so, peace talks have taken place in Iraq and Oman, whose leaders have sought to persuade the rivals to put aside their animosity. The latest announcement is therefore a feather in the cap for Beijing’s engagement in the Middle East.

China has slowly increased its presence in the region in the past two decades, with trade hitting more than US$300 billion. Major planks include its oil imports – vital, given its massive energy requirements – the export of goods to the region and establishing its Belt and Road Initiative. It has provided aid to Syria following the devastating earthquake in February, helped build transport infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and built Egypt’s new administrative capital, among other projects.
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