Beijing’s Middle East Balancing Act

On the sidelines of a regional summit in Baku, Beijing once again sought to cast itself as an indispensable arbiter of Middle Eastern affairs. Meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi delivered a sharp rebuke of Israeli policy, demanding an immediate halt and reversal to the forced establishment of settlements in the West Bank.

According to China’s foreign ministry, Wang framed the conflict in sweeping terms, calling the Palestinian question the greatest historical injustice of this century. Reaffirming Beijing’s backing for a two-state solution, he urged the full opening of access to the Gaza Strip to prevent further humanitarian disaster, adding that China remains willing to guide all parties back toward a political settlement.

Wang’s presence in Azerbaijan as the special representative of President Xi Jinping reflects a broader, deliberate initiative to expand Chinese influence across the region. Only a month prior, Xi made his first visit to Cairo in ten years, calling on Middle Eastern governments to reject external influence and reshape their security framework. The underlying ambition is clear: as Washington’s traditional footprint in the region faces growing strain, Beijing is presenting itself as an alternative diplomatic anchor.

Yet Beijing’s diplomatic posture is constantly balanced against its own pragmatic interests. China remains the vital buyer of Iranian oil, purchasing up to 90 percent of Tehran’s exports, backed by a 25-year strategic partnership agreement signed in 2021. When joint US and Israeli military actions against Iran erupted in March, Beijing strongly condemned the strikes, with Wang telling Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar that negotiations with Tehran had been making real progress on security concerns prior to the attacks.

Simultaneously, China has spent years deepening ties with Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, while maintaining essential commercial partnerships with both the United States and Israel. Beijing’s demands for regional stability and an end to foreign meddling reflect less of a neutral diplomatic crusade and more of a careful risk-management strategy for its economic balance sheet. Can a power so deeply reliant on energy imports and broad commercial access act as an impartial mediator, or is its rhetoric in Baku merely an effort to buy strategic influence on the cheap?

Written by Andreas Hofer andreas.hofer@alpineweekly.com