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What’s behind China’s careful response to its ally Iran after US-Israel strikes?
Beijing’s strong but restrained reaction aligns with a long-standing strategy of diplomatic backing without direct military engagement
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The joint US-Israel strikes on Iran, which have plunged the Middle East into deeper turmoil, have received qualified support from some countries and condemnation from others.
China – which confirmed the death of one Chinese national in Iran and the evacuation of its 3,000 citizens from the country – partnered with Russia on Saturday to hold an emergency session of the UN Security Council and condemned the military action.
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US-Israeli strikes intensify in Iran as Trump warns of more casualties
US-Israeli strikes intensify in Iran as Trump warns of more casualties
In a call on Monday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, denounced the strikes and the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, as “unacceptable”.
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“The international community should send a clear and unambiguous message against the world reverting to the law of the jungle,” he said.
But apart from that, Beijing – which has a comprehensive strategic partnership with Tehran – has stopped short of offering concrete help, just as it did when Israel launched attacks on Iran’s military and nuclear sites in June last year.
Why such a restrained response?
Beijing’s reaction has aligned with its long-standing playbook of offering diplomatic backing while avoiding direct military engagement, as it also did when Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro was abducted by the US in January.
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