US commends China's Middle East mediation

The US hopes China will continue using its diplomatic influence in the Middle East after the two countries cooperated earlier this month to de-escalate tensions between Israel and Iran, US secretary of state Tony Blinken said today.

"We did come very close to an escalation, a spread of the conflict," after Israel and Iran exchanged aerial attacks on each other's territory, Blinken said at a special meeting of the World Economic Forum in the Saudi Arabia capital Riyadh. The US saw that China used its influence in Iran to prevent an outbreak of a broader regional conflict "and that's a positive thing," Blinken said.

Beijing stepped in last year to mediate an agreement between Tehran and Riyadh to normalize relations, playing a mediation role that the US could not carry out on its own. The US supported Chinese efforts to normalize Saudi-Iranian relations "because, if we can find through diplomacy ways to ease tensions and to avoid any conflict, that's a good thing," Blinken said.

China has "a clear, obvious interest in stability in the Middle East," he said. "They obviously depend on the region for energy resources. There are many vital trading partners here."

China provides a critical economic lifeline to Iran by absorbing nearly all of Iranian crude exports, "which is another challenge," Blinken said. But the US sees China as acting in its self-interest to help bolster stability in the Middle East.

Finding some common ground on Iran was a rare positive spot during Blinken's visit to China last week. Blinken pushed his Chinese counterparts to put an end to private Chinese companies' supplies for Russia's military industry, while President Xi Jinping accused the US of undermining China's economic growth.

"China and the US should be partners rather than rivals," Xi told Blinken during their meeting in Beijing on 26 April. The two countries should find common ground "rather than engage in vicious competition," Xi said.

The US contends that Chinese companies supply 70pc of the machine tools and 90pc of the microelectronics for the Russian military industry, allowing Moscow to significantly increase weapons output in the past year. It remains to be seen whether the US threat of sanctions against Chinese companies accused of helping Russia's military industry will work, Blinken said.

By Haik Gugarats