China in the Mideast

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (C) waves as he returns to his car after visiting the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, on October 12, 2024. At least 22 people were killed in Israeli strikes on a densely populated area of central Beirut on October 10, the Lebanese health ministry said, with a security source saying a Hezbollah figure was the target. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP) (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Speaker, negotiator, China envoy: What Ghalibaf's accumulated powers mean for Iran

Iran's appointment of Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf to oversee the China relationship demonstrates his ability to operate across Iran's fractured institutional landscape and produce political outcomes.

Jamshid Jamshidi

By Jamshid Jamshidi

Ships navigate the Bosphorus Strait on May 02, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey. Since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war against Iran, forcing the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and together with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, global shipping routes have been severely impacted. Soaring shipping costs, lengthening delivery times and less efficient routes have seen increased pressure on energy markets and supply chains worldwide. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Analysis

Why Turkey sees opportunity in Hormuz crisis to boost Middle Corridor

Ankara seeks to exploit transport disruptions from the Iran, Ukraine wars to push the corridor, but high costs, logistical bottlenecks and South Caucasus politics pose obstacles.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Iranian cargo trucks cross into the Pakistan-Iran border at Taftan, Balochistan province, on June 18, 2025, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.

Analysis

Pakistan’s six corridors offer Iran a trade lifeline, could outlast Hormuz crisis

Sabena Siddiqui

By Sabena Siddiqui

In Karachi, reporting on South Asia, Middle East, Iran

trump xi

Analysis

Why China didn’t hand Trump a breakthrough on Iran

Trump's landmark three-day visit to China — the first for a US president since 2017 — included plenty of fanfare, flattery and awkward selfies but failed to produce deals or breakthroughs on Iran.

Joyce Karam

By Rosaleen Carroll , Joyce Karam

Latest News

Analysis

Iran looms large over Trump’s China visit, but breakthrough unlikely

TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump (C) is escorted by China's Vice President Han Zheng (R) upon his arrival at Beijing Capital Airport in Beijing on May 13, 2026. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Analysis

Ahead of Trump-Xi summit, Iran looks to China as guarantor — but with reservations

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands as they arrive for talks at the Gimhae Air Base in Busan, South Korea, on Oct. 30, 2025.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Analysis

China shores up Iran support as Trump seeks exit

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi of Iran meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi of China in Beijing on May 6, 2026. Credit: Telegram

Joyce Karam

Iran, China discuss Hormuz reopening amid potential US-Iran talks

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, second right, talks to his Iranian Counterpart Abbas Araghchi, left, during the bilateral meeting in Beijing, Wednesday, May 6, 2026.

Iranian officials defend deal with China

Iranian officials say they are still working out the details of the Iran-China agreement but defended the agreement on principle.

Iran government squeezed over ‘secretive’ deal with China

Pressure is mounting on the Iranian government to release specifics of a contentious, long-term partnership agreement with Beijing, which some critics fear could effectively turn Iran into a Chinese “colony.”

Workers take down a Belt and Road Forum panel outside the venue of the forum in Beijing on April 27, 2019. - Chinese President Xi Jinping urged dozens of world leaders on April 27 to reject protectionism and invited more countries to participate in his global infrastructure project after seeking to ease concerns surrounding the programme. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP) (Photo credit should read GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images)

China’s 'Belt and Road' push brings risks, rewards to Mideast

China's digital and satellite advances offer new regional opportunities and challenges for the United States in countering Beijing's economic influence in the region.

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Has China gained an edge on the US in the Gulf?

China has upped the ante, but the United States holds the winning hand; Oman weighs risks and benefits of Gulf bailout; will migrant workers return to GCC?

Turkish lira banknotes are pictured at a bank in the town of Sarmada in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, on June 14, 2020. - Authorities in northwest Syria are taking steps to substitute the plummeting Syrian pound with the Turkish lira to shield their opposition-held region from an economic crisis ahead of new US sanctions, an official said. The Salvation Government -- a civilian body affiliated to the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham jihadist group which dominates the Idlib region -- had already started paying wa

Turkey’s ‘peg-legged’ foreign currency reserves

Turkey’s central bank appears increasingly fragile, with more than 60% of its reserves secured through swap deals.

The false logic of a China-US choice in the Middle East

Framing the discussion of China's role in the Middle East as a zero-sum game of choosing either US or Chinese patronage has only increased Beijing's clout in the region.

An Emirates aircraft takes off from Dubai International Airport on April 6, 2020, as Emirates Airline resumed a limited number of outbound passenger flights after its COVID-19 coronavirus-enforced stoppage. (Photo by KARIM SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Emirates suspends passenger flights from Pakistan following virus cases

The Dubai-based airline said a number of passengers were found to have COVID-19 on a recent flight.

United Arab Emirates

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan attend the fourth Israel-China Joint Committee on Innovation Cooperation meeting at the foreign ministry in Jerusalem, October 24, 2018. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC11C8C06E00

Intel: China may pose greater challenge to US hegemony in Mideast than Russia

The top US military commander for operations in the Middle East said that China’s economic influence in the Middle East may one day pose a greater challenge to US strategic interests than Russia in the region, even as the Kremlin seeks wider military presence in Syria and Libya.

AIPAC lobbies for US-Israel coronavirus bill to counter China

Congress is quickly lining up behind an AIPAC bill to deepen COVID-19 cooperation with Israel while sidelining China.

China apparently left out of Israel's 5G network tender

The first phase of the tender for building the 5G wireless network in Israel has passed its deadline, with Chinese bidders apparently left out.

Chinese construction labourers work at the site of the future Iconic Tower skyscraper, at its foundations in the business district, being built by China State Construction Engineering Corp (CSCEC) in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) east of Cairo, Egypt May 2, 2019. Picture taken May 2, 2019. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - RC1DBF7311C0

Intel: US warns Middle Eastern partners against Chinese investment

The State Department’s top official overseeing US policy in the Middle East warned countries in the region against accepting Chinese investment, contracts and coronavirus aid during a virtual interview with the Middle East Institute today.

Israeli-Chinese ties scrutinized by US

Washington might soon demand that Israel pick a side in the security and trade conflict between the United States and China.