Beijing: Our main priority is to prevent further conflicts in the Middle East.
Mao Ning, a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, announced on Wednesday, November 4 that preventing further conflicts in the Middle East is "the main priority of this country's diplomatic efforts with the countries of the region."
In recent days, China has stepped up its efforts to resolve the eight-month crisis, following Donald Trump's renewed threat of military action against Iran.
Mao Ning added that Beijing is helping Iran and the US "in resolving the disputes through negotiations, finding a political solution to the Yemen issue and achieving an adequate and comprehensive peace to reopen the Strait of Hormuz."
China, considered one of Iran's main economic partners, hosted back-to-back meetings with officials from the Islamic Republic, Oman and Saudi Arabia in Beijing on Monday and demanded the sides return to the negotiating table. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in separate meetings with Saudi Arabia's National Security Adviser, Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Iban, and Ali Bagri Keni, Deputy Secretary of the Supreme Council for National Security of the Republic of Salami, called for the protection of shipping lanes and emphasized the need for "the rule of the spirit of rationality."
Xi Jinping, the leader of China, also met and talked with the King of Oman this week in Beijing and warned that the Middle East is becoming a "battlefield and competition between great powers".
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman also announced at a press conference that Beijing will send its special envoy for Middle East affairs in the form of "mutual diplomacy" and "with the aim of promoting peace talks and reducing tensions" to Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia later this month.