Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech in Davos marked a new era in how the West talks about itself. One could say he was the first Global North leader to frame the rules-based international order (RIP) in Global South terms:
“We knew the story of the international rules-based order was partially false, that the strongest would exempt themselves when convenient, that trade rules were enforced asymmetrically. And we knew ...
Category: China-Middle East
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 ...
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, ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
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, ...
Mediterranean Anxieties Over the Sino-Moroccan Rapprochement: French, Algerian, and Tunisian Media Perspectives
By Bianca Pasquier On October 31, 2025, China abstained from the United Nations Security Council vote endorsing Morocco’s “Western Sahara Autonomy Proposal” for resolving the conflict between Rabat and the Polisario Front. Two days prior, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly ...
Riyadh and Beijing Push Ahead With Tech Cooperation as Saudi Firms Distance From Huawei
Saudi Arabia and China are moving to deepen their already sizeable cooperation across a range of advanced technologies. The kingdom’s National Industrial Development Center held a meeting on Wednesday with a delegation comprising leaders of 30 leading Chinese companies. Led by ...
New Insights Emerge About Iran’s Secretive (and Very Lucrative) Trade With China
It's been an open secret for years that China and Iran figured out some very creative ways to circumvent international sanctions to conduct billions of dollars in trade every year. Until now, though, it just wasn't clear how they did it. ...