Chinese President Xi Jinping called Tuesday for respect for the sovereignty of states as well as international law in the Middle East, and assured that his country would continue to play a “constructive” role in peace efforts.
“Preserving the authority of international law should not mean using it when it suits us, and rejecting it when it does not. We cannot allow the world to return to the law of the jungle,” Xi said during a meeting with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Khaled bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, as reported by state media.
“Sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity of Middle Eastern countries and the Gulf region must be fully respected,” he added.
On Tuesday, China hosted a series of foreign leaders, all affected to varying degrees by the events in the Middle East, even if these were not the primary focus of their visit: the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, Russian Foreign Minister Serguei Lavrov, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, and Vietnamese President To Lam.
China and Russia are partners of Iran and rivals of the United States.
Despite the considerable discretion on the details of its actions, an important role has been attributed to Chinese diplomacy in the current ceasefire and the failed talks between Iran and the United States.
Before the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, Xi Jinping “stressed China’s principled position in favor of promoting peace and resuming talks, and reaffirmed that it would continue to play a constructive role in this regard,” according to state media.
Xi expressed similar sentiments to the Spanish Prime Minister: “China and Spain must ‘closely cooperate to oppose the return of the world to the law of the jungle, jointly defend true multilateralism, preserve the international system centered on the United Nations and the international order based on international law’.”
AFP
