US President Joe Biden reportedly intends to urge his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to wield his clout with Iran to prevent the Palestine-Israel conflict from escalating into a wider regional one.
During his forthcoming one-on-one with the Chinese President, Biden “will underscore our desire for China to make clear in its burgeoning relationship with Iran that it is essential that Iran not seek to escalate or spread violence in the Middle East,” a senior administration official was cited as telling 'Politico'. Furthermore, a warning is to be conveyed that any “provocative actions” on the part of Tehran will trigger an immediate US response, the official said.
The relationship between China and Iran will be the focus of “tough conversations” between Biden and Xi, another senior administration official was quoted as telling reporters. The Biden administration is increasingly concerned that Iran’s ally – the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group – could wade into the continuing flare-up in the Middle East by opening a second front against Israel, the US report stated citing Washington officials.
Accordingly, the US is looking to China to exert its influence over Iran. Beijing and Tehran have been enhancing their ties, having signed a long-term comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement in March 2021. For more than a decade, Beijing has been Tehran’s largest trading partner. In March, China facilitated an agreement normalizing relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The United States is hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit for the first time since 2011, and Biden and Xi are set to meet on the sidelines of the forum on 15 November.
It was earlier reported that the first meeting between Biden and Xi since they met at the G20 summit in Bali in November 2022 would focus on the US-China bilateral relationship, restoring “essential communications between the United States and China on the military side”, and showing the Chinese President once again that Washington is committed to the One China policy, with no support for Taiwan's independence. One can also expect the two leaders to discuss the Ukraine conflict, cooperation on climate issues, and a spate of other hot-button topics.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said of the forthcoming meeting that the two leaders will discuss the “strategic, overarching and fundamental importance in shaping China-US relations and major issues concerning world peace and development”.
However, as the Palestine-Israel conflict rages on and the Palestinian death toll in Gaza since 7 October has exceeded 11,0000, preventing a spillover of the violence is also expected to be uppermost on the agenda of the Biden-Xi talks.
As Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continue their onslaught on Gaza, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying on Saturday that the Israeli military will remain in the Gaza Strip as long as necessary, there has been growing pressure around the world to end the Palestinian suffering in the enclave. Joe Biden, however, has rejected calls for a ceasefire while expressing “unwavering” support for Israel. Instead, the US floated the suggestion for a brief “humanitarian pause” in Israel’s assault to allow aid to enter Gaza or permit civilians to leave the enclave. It should be noted that the Biden administration's clumsy attempts to convince Netanyahu to refrain from initiating a full-scale ground operation in Gaza resulted in humiliation, as did the flurry of feeble shuttle diplomacy carried out by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Amid the ongoing escalation, Washington has been concerned that Israeli 'arch-enemy' Iran may be dragged into the conflict. It should be noted that unlike the US, Iran joined Russia, China, Brazil, Turkiye and other powers in calling for an immediate halt to the fighting in Gaza, with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian telling United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that Iran is prepared to back “any political solution aimed at halting” Israel's “crimes against humanity”.
More recently, as Arab and Muslim leaders concluded an emergency summit of the Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, they condemned Israeli “aggression” on Gaza and demanded a ceasefire. During his first official visit to Saudi Arabia for the summit, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi on Saturday slammed Washington’s role in the violence, pointing to its large shipments of weapons to Israel every day.
Dismissing Washington's proposal for “humanitarian pauses”, he urged a complete lifting of the blockade on the Gaza Strip and the opening of the Rafah checkpoint without restrictions or obstacles. According to Raisi, all countries must ensure the security of Palestinians in the occupied territories, and a sustainable solution to the conflict is to create a Palestinian state from the river to the sea.
Echoing remarks made earlier by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, Raisi urged Islamic countries to “cut off political and trade ties” with Israel and declare a boycott on its goods. Tel Aviv and Washington ought to be tried “in court” to ensure “prosecution for crimes”, said Raisi.
As for Biden’s meeting with Xi, the aforementioned US report cited administration officials as saying that “this is precisely the time for high level diplomacy", bearing in mind the upcoming demands of the reelection campaign. With 2024 likely to be “quite a bumpy year,” the officials have predicted, they voiced hope the Biden-Xi face-to-face will result in “substantial” outcomes.