China's Xi puts forth a four-point proposal to bolster peace in West Asia

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday presented his four-point proposal to bolster peace and stability in West Asia, in his meeting with Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of United Arab Emirates (UAE).

During the meeting, Xi vowed that China would play a ‘constructive’ role in
promoting ceasefire talks in the Gulf region, while urging countries to respect the sovereignty of nations in the war-torn region.

The Chinese President also emphasised that the international rule of law must be upheld for
peace to prevail in the region.

While China has repeatedly criticised the offensive approach of the US and Israel against Iran, this is one of the few public comments that Xi has made about the conflict.

‘Four-point proposal’ for peace

To bring back peace in West Asia, and to achieve the goal of a ’long-lasting’ ceasefire, the Chinese President put forward his four-point peace proposal for the countries.

The proposal includes: adherence to the principle of peaceful coexistence, acknowledging the national sovereignty of countries, upholding the international rule of law, and adherence to the coordination of development and security.

“Xi Jinping stressed China’s principled stance of promoting peace and urging talks, and reiterated it will continue to play a constructive role on this,” state news agency Xinhua said, as reported by AFP.

During the meeting, Xi also stressed the need to safeguard a United Nations-based world order.

China’s balanced approach

Throughout the West Asia conflict, that started on February 28, China has maintained a cautious approach. While it has criticised the US on many occasions, the latest being the
US naval blockade of Iran, it has maintained a strategic distance from Iran too, avoiding any direct confrontation with Washington and its allies in the Gulf.

When the reports emerged that China is helping Iran militarily in the ongoing conflict, and it has sent three mystery cargo planes to Tehran, Beijing immediately rejected all these reports as ‘baseless and unfounded.’

It’s meeting time in Beijing

Since the 21-hours long Islamabad talks failed to deliver a long-lasting ceasefire, a number of global leaders are travelling to Beijing, in attempts to bring
peace and stability in the Gulf.

Apart from the Crown Prince of UAE, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has also arrived in Beijing in a two-day official visit, where both would work together to ‘de-escalate’ tensions in West Asia.

Vietnam’s President To Lam is also scheduled to meet the Chinese President in this week only. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is also visiting Beijing this week, however, the trip is largely focused on bilateral trade ties.

Among all these meetings, the biggest one is scheduled next month with Trump, which if happens, can provide a big opportunity to discuss key issues that have prevented Washington and Tehran to reach a long-lasting ceasefire in West Asia.