China’s President Xi Jinping has used a meeting in Beijing with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to present a four-point plan for peace in the Middle East, stepping into a diplomatic gap after weekend talks between the United States and Iran in Islamabad ended without a deal. Xi’s proposal called for peaceful coexistence, respect for sovereignty, adherence to international law and a balance between development and security, in what amounted to Beijing’s clearest public attempt yet to frame a political route out of the widening conflict.
The intervention came at a moment of acute regional strain. Talks in Pakistan, described by Reuters as the highest-level direct contact between U. S. and Iranian officials in decades, ran for more than 20 hours but failed to deliver a breakthrough. The sides remained divided over Tehran’s nuclear programme, sanctions relief, frozen assets and the future of the Strait of Hormuz, though Pakistani mediation continued after the meeting and both camps left the door open to further dialogue.
Xi’s formula was broad rather than prescriptive, but its timing was pointed. In official Chinese accounts of the meeting, he said Middle East states should be encouraged to improve ties among themselves and to build what Beijing called a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security architecture. He also said sovereignty, security and territorial integrity must be respected, warned against selective use of international law, and argued that development and security had to advance together if the region was to avoid deeper instability. Reuters reported that Xi coupled those themes with a warning that the world must not slide back into “the law of the jungle”.
That language reflects both principle and interest. China has criticised the U. S.-Israeli campaign against Iran and has tried to present itself as a supporter of political settlement rather than military escalation. It had already said in March that it would send a special envoy to the Middle East for mediation, while urging protection of civilians, energy facilities and shipping routes. Beijing is now sharpening that posture as the conflict hits trade and energy flows that matter directly to the Chinese economy.
The Strait of Hormuz sits at the centre of that concern. Since the war began in late February, Iran has effectively shut the waterway to vessels it regards as unfriendly, while the U. S. this week began a blockade of Iranian ports. Oil shipments from Gulf states, including the UAE, have fallen sharply through the strait, and China’s March energy data already showed stress in the system, with natural gas imports at their lowest since October 2022 and crude imports down 2.8%. Separate Reuters reporting said April crude arrivals are likely to weaken further, even though China has ample stockpiles to cushion a short-term shock.
For the UAE, the Beijing visit underlined how Gulf states are trying to widen diplomatic options while insulating their economies from a conflict they did not start. Sheikh Khaled, who is Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and chairs the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, led a delegation that included senior figures from energy, trade and investment. China’s leadership used the trip to push for deeper cooperation in conventional and emerging energy, including storage, hydrogen and electric vehicles, while also seeking stronger safeguards for Chinese citizens, institutions and projects in the UAE.
The visit also showed that China’s Middle East diplomacy is not being pursued in isolation from commerce. Reuters reported that Xi told Sheikh Khaled he wanted a more resilient and dynamic strategic partnership with the UAE, while Premier Li Qiang spoke of expanding bilateral trade and welcomed more UAE investment in artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing and life sciences. Beijing is due later this year to host a second China-Arab States Summit, where it hopes to advance a free-trade pact with the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Still, China’s peace push faces hard limits. Xi’s four points contain no enforcement mechanism, no proposal for sequencing concessions between Washington and Tehran, and no answer to the most contentious disputes exposed in Islamabad. Iranian demands for sanctions relief, non-aggression guarantees and continued enrichment rights remain far apart from U. S. insistence on preventing Tehran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon and on reopening Hormuz without Iranian conditions. Turkey has since said it is working with Pakistan and others to keep the ceasefire alive and maintain negotiations, a sign that mediation is spreading rather than converging around a single broker.
