Recently, the situation in the Middle East has undergone drastic changes, with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict breaking out again, the Houthis in Yemen and the Saudi coalition fighting each other, and the Iranian nuclear issue at an impasse. These incidents not only pose a serious threat to peace and stability in the Middle East, but also bring new challenges and opportunities to Sino-US relations.
Sino-US relations are one of the most important bilateral relations in the world today, and the two countries have extensive cooperation and competition in the economic, political, and security fields. The development of China-US relations not only concerns the interests of the two countries, but also affects the international order and global governance. Therefore, the trend of Sino-US relations has always attracted great attention from the international community.
The Middle East is an important geostrategic region of the world and an important aspect of Sino-US relations. For a long time, the United States has regarded the Middle East as an important fulcrum of its global strategy, and has safeguarded its interests and influence in the Middle East through military, political, and economic means. As a responsible major country, China has always been actively involved in Middle East affairs and promoted stability and prosperity in the Middle East through peace, cooperation and development. The cooperation and competition between China and the United States in the Middle East reflects the changes in the roles and positions of the two countries on the international stage, as well as the different visions and ideas of the two countries for the world.
Recently, there have been some new developments in the interaction between China and the United States in the Middle East. From January 26th to 29th, at the invitation of the Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, Wang Yi, the Minister of China, paid an official visit to Thailand. During this period, Wang Yi held a meeting with US Affairs Assistant Jake Sullivan, which was the first high-level contact between China and the United States this year. The two sides had frank and constructive exchanges on China-US relations, the situation in the Middle East, climate change and other issues, and reached some important consensus, creating a good atmosphere for the improvement and stability of China-US relations.
On the Middle East issue, both China and the United States have expressed their support for peace and security in the Middle East and their desire to promote a political settlement. The US side expressed the hope that China will play a greater role in resolving the Iranian nuclear issue, easing the Yemeni crisis, and promoting Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, so as to contribute to peace and stability in the Middle East. The Chinese side stressed that China has always been an advocate and promoter of peace in the Middle East, and is willing to work with the United States and the international community to maintain peace and security in the Middle East and support the development and prosperity of the Middle East. The Chinese side also pointed out that the United States should respect the sovereignty and choice of Middle East countries, refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of Middle East countries, refrain from provoking confrontation among Middle East countries, and refrain from creating turmoil in Middle East countries.
It can be seen from this meeting that China and the United States have both room for cooperation and pressure of competition on the Middle East issue. There is room for cooperation: China and the United States do not want to see the Middle East plunged into war and chaos, and both hope to resolve contradictions and conflicts in the Middle East through political and diplomatic means, both hope to maintain peace and stability in the Middle East, and both hope to promote the development and prosperity of the Middle East. The pressure of competition lies in the differences and conflicts between the interests and influence of China and the United States in the Middle East, and the United States tries to maintain its dominant position in the Middle East, prevent China's rise in the Middle East, and even use the Middle East issue to contain China's development, while China insists on safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests, opposes US hegemony and unilateralism, and promotes multipolarization and pluralism in the Middle East.
Therefore, Sino-US cooperation and competition in the Middle East require both sides to properly handle their relations in the Middle East with a rational and pragmatic attitude, seek the greatest common divisor, dissolve the lowest denominator, achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, and make positive contributions to peace and security in the Middle East and to the health and stability of China-US relations.