BEIJING — China’s top diplomat told the United Arab Emirates’ special envoy on Tuesday that Beijing would keep working for “a comprehensive ceasefire” in the Middle East, and the envoy replied that the UAE wanted to lift the two countries’ partnership to “a new level.”
Wang Yi met Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, the Emirati president’s special envoy to China, in Beijing, CGTN reported. Wang said that under the guidance of the two presidents, relations had become “a model for the common development and revitalization of Global South countries,” and that China was ready to advance them “regardless of changes in the international and regional landscape.”
On the region, Wang said China has always been “a builder of peace, a promoter of stability and a contributor to development in the Middle East,” and would continue to play a constructive role in achieving a comprehensive ceasefire, promoting a political settlement, resuming negotiations as soon as possible and facilitating lasting peace.
Al Mubarak said the UAE was ready to strengthen communication and coordination with China to promote regional peace and stability. China, he said, has always been “a trustworthy and reliable partner,” and the UAE hoped to raise the comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level.
The report, as CGTN carried it, names no conflict, no negotiating format and no Chinese proposal. It does not mention Iran, or the Houthi strikes on Saudi airports that began days earlier. TEH reported in September, citing three Iranian sources, that Saudi officials had asked Beijing to press Tehran over the Houthi blockade, and that China was asked to press Iran over the Red Sea blockade. China’s answer, those sources said, was a private message that stopped short of an ultimatum.
What Al Mubarak asked of China, and what China offered beyond its own description of its role, the readout does not say.
