Iran’s Relations with China under the Influence of Two Regional Events

Abstract

China's increasing role in the Middle East has gained importance. Beijing has played an influential role in mediating disputes and fostering negotiation among the region’s states. In late 2022 and the beginning of 2023, the Middle East region experienced some changes and developments; among them, two were most remarkable: The December 2022 China-Arabs summit and its final statement and the development in Iran-Saudi relations mediated by China in March 2023. Both of these changes have influenced Iran-China relations. This paper addresses how these changes affected the relations between Iran and China. It explores Iranians’ assessment of both changes and developments.