With U.S.-South Africa ties in the deep freeze, it was notable to see the sheer size of the U.S. delegation sent to this week’s Mining Indaba in Cape Town – one of the most prominent industry gatherings and one of the few where the Global South gets a prominent voice.
The Trump administration’s famous Afrophobia seems (momentarily at least) tempered by its greed for minerals. It is reportedly walking ...
Category: China-Middle East
Saudi March Crude Oil Supply to China to Rise to Multi-Year High, Sources Say
Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports to China are set to touch a multi-year high in March after the kingdom cut its official selling prices to Asia for a fourth month and attracted more demand, several trade sources said. State oil company ...
China Balances Israel Outreach With Assurances to Palestinians
China's Special Envoy for the Middle East, Zhai Jun, met on Tuesday with the Palestinian Authority's ambassador to Beijing, Jawad Mohammed Qutish Awad, for a briefing on the current situation in the West Bank and Gaza. Specific details of their discussion were ...
China and the Libyan Crisis: Maintaining a Foot in the Door in a Changing Region
By Bianca Pasquier and Leonardo Bruni, On November 12, 2025, the Chinese embassy in Tripoli officially reopened after more than a decade. However, the return of Chinese diplomatic staff to the Libyan capital passed largely unnoticed, attracting scant media interest ...
Chinese Officials Hold Talks With OIC Secretary General
China's vice president and foreign minister held talks with the secretary-general of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Monday, according to a ministry statement and the official news agency, Xinhua. The talks in the Chinese capital of Beijing come amid ...
China, Pakistan Talk Afghan Security
Mohammad Sadiq and Yue Xiaoyong, Pakistan and China’s special envoys for Afghanistan, held an online meeting to discuss the declining security situation in the country. The talks covered growing threats of terrorism, regional stability, and ongoing security cooperation. The talks ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
China Backs Yemen Peace Talks Led by Saudi Arabia
China has expressed support for Saudi-hosted peace talks on the future of Southern Yemen. The proposal for talks in Riyadh preceded Saudi-backed airstrikes on Friday, which reportedly restored control of the Hadramout and Al-Mahrah provinces from the separatist Southern Transitional Council ...
Talks in Iran Highlight Security Challenges with Afghanistan
Representatives from China joined counterparts from several Central and South Asian countries in Tehran to map new approaches to Afghanistan. However, the Afghan delegation did not attend. In addition to the host Iran, the talks included Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and ...
China Pushes Gulf Cooperation Council to Conclude Free Trade Agreement
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on the Gulf Cooperation Council to conclude a free trade agreement that has been in discussion for decades. Wang’s meeting with Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, on Sunday in Riyadh, ...
China and Jordan Discuss Closer Ties
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with King Abdullah II of Jordan on Monday, the conclusion of his trip to the Middle East. He also met with Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. The conversations focused on boosting economic cooperation, channeling more ...
China’s Foreign Minister Courts Gulf Leaders Amid Regional Realignments
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday in Riyadh, where the two discussed bolstering the Kingdom's ties with Iran. In 2023, China helped to broker a reconciliation between the two rivals after a ...
China’s Top Diplomat to Visit Middle East This Week
China's top diplomat Wang Yi will begin a tour of the Middle East on Friday for bilateral talks in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, Beijing said Thursday. Wang will visit from 12 to 16 December for talks with ...
China, Iran, Saudi Arabia Reiterate Cooperation, But Barriers Remain
Officials from China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia convened in Tehran for trilateral talks on Tuesday. It was the third meeting of their trilateral committee following China’s brokering of a historical Iran-Saudi detente in 2023. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi, ...