Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shakes hands with Chinese
President Xi Jinping during the China-Arab summit in Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia on December 9, 2022 [photo credit: Saudi Press Agency]
Paragraph 12 of the statement refers unambiguously to the disputed
status of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb, and offers support to
the UAE’s “endeavours to reach a peaceful solution to the issue through
bilateral negotiations in accordance with the rules of international
law.” Such a statement is a rejection of the Iranian stance that there
is no dispute over the sovereignty of the islands, which were seized by
Iran in disputed circumstances as the British withdrew from the Gulf in
1971 and the United Arab Emirates came into being.
In the wake of the summit statement, Iran initially tried to ignore
the slight, missing out the offending paragraph 12 in translations of
the statement published in Iranian state media. However, by late on
Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
had circumvented the restrictions on Twitter in Iran to post a
statement from a ministry spokesman that the islands “are inseparable
parts of the integral land of Iran and belong to this motherland
forever. In our duty to respect the territorial integrity of Iran, we
will make no compromise.” In taking this stance, the Iranian Foreign
Minister usefully managed to unite Iranians of many persuasions,
including patriotic political exiles and dissidents abroad despite the
country being deeply embroiled in widespread street protests. The
minister followed up by summoning the Chinese ambassador in Teheran for a
dressing down.
The summit statement also had other elements which would have upset
the Iranians. Paragraph 7 was a condemnation of financing and support
offered to terrorist organisations operating in the region, a shot aimed
directly at Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthis. Paragraph 9 sought to ensure
that the Iranian nuclear programme was restricted to peaceful purposes,
and called on Iran to fully cooperate with the International Atomic
Energy Agency. Paragraph 10 was a Chinese-GCC endorsement of the need
for ‘good neighbourliness and non-interference in internal affairs,
respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of
states, and resolution of disputes by peaceful means without resort to
the use of force’ and in accordance with international law. Paragraph
11 was even more pointed and specific, calling for a comprehensive
dialogue “to address the Iranian nuclear file and destabilising regional
activities, address support for terrorist and sectarian groups and
illegal armed organisations, prevent the proliferation of ballistic
missiles and drones, ensure the safety of international navigation and
oil installations, and adhere to UN resolutions and international
legitimacy.” Paragraph 15 saw China line up with the GCC to condemn “all
terrorist attacks launched by the Houthi militia on civilian targets in
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Yemeni
interior and in the waterways and international shipping routes.”
Finally, there was muted criticism of Iran’s newest best friend Russia,
for jeopardising global food and energy supplies.
In many respects, China siding with the GCC in its contentious
relationship with Iran is no surprise, given the value of Chinese trade
with the GCC compared with China’s trade with Iran, and exemplified by
the massive 27-year gas sale and purchase agreement
signed two weeks ago by QatarEnergy and Sinopec. The writing was on
the wall on 2 November 2020, when Arab Digest headlined that ‘China stalls in talks with Iran but woos the UAE.’ The Chinese procrastinated before finally signing a watered-down Strategic Partnership Pact
with Iran on 27 March 2021. The surprise now is that China has been so
explicit in its support for the GCC across the range of issues where it
has disputes with Iran.
Whilst the outcome of the summit may be seen as a major reverse in
Teheran, in Washington there will be a mixed response: concern that
China is upping its game with the GCC coupled with a degree of wry
delight. Almost every element of the GCC-China communiqué to a lesser or
greater degree supports American foreign policy objectives, and it has
been some time since a conference hosted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman has delivered such a positive outcome for the United States, and
such a dividend without being present.