Politics · World News Bureau
Beijing's Gulf gambit: a seat at Asia's oil table
Xi Jinping and Wang Yi hosted Oman, Iran and Saudi Arabia in a single day as China bids to broker peace on the Hormuz oil route that mostly feeds Asia, but Washington, Doha and Islamabad still hold the main channels.
LSN World News ·
<p><em>Special Reporting from LSN News, adapted from today's Power Play Asia episode. <a href="https://youtu.be/8JSSDeXgiyA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Watch the video on YouTube.</a></em></p>
<p>In a single day in Beijing on Monday, China hosted three of the players who matter most in the war around the Gulf. President Xi Jinping received Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, while Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, and then Saudi Arabia's national security adviser, Musaad al-Aiban. For Asia, the question is whether Beijing is becoming a peacemaker on the oil route that feeds the continent, or simply its most visible bystander.</p>
<h2>Three visitors, one message</h2>
<p>According to Xinhua, Xi told the Sultan that the Middle East and the Gulf "should not become a wrestling ground for major-country rivalry and geopolitical conflicts." Anadolu Agency reports that it was the first visit by an Omani sultan to China since the two countries established diplomatic ties 48 years ago.</p>
<p>The joint statement that followed, as reported by Anadolu citing Oman's foreign ministry, urged Washington and Tehran to reach a ceasefire, return to the Islamabad memorandum, the Pakistan-brokered deal signed in June, and restore normal and safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. The Sultan also said China is now Oman's largest trading partner. Oman's role matters: it sits on the Strait of Hormuz, facing Iran.</p>
<p>Wang told Bagheri Kani that Beijing supports Tehran in "safeguarding its own sovereignty and security," but that all parties should "focus on a political solution rather than once again resorting to armed conflict," according to a Chinese statement reported by CNA. In his meeting with the Saudi envoy, Wang called for dialogue "while safeguarding regional energy security and the safety of shipping lanes." China's foreign ministry also said its Middle East envoy, Zhai Jun, will visit Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia in early to mid-November.</p>
<h2>Why Asia has the most at stake</h2>
<p>The US Energy Information Administration estimated that in 2024, 84 percent of the crude oil and condensate moving through Hormuz went to Asian markets, and that China, India, Japan and South Korea together took 69 percent of those flows. Since the war began, CNA reports, Tehran has restricted shipping through the strait, which normally carries around one-fifth of global oil consumption.</p>
<p>Our read: Beijing has a record to sell. Musaad al-Aiban led the Saudi delegation in March 2023, when Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed in Beijing to restore diplomatic ties. China wants the region to remember that moment. The Washington Post summed up Monday's meetings plainly: China is vying for a seat at the table.</p>
<p>That table is crowded. CNA reports that Qatar and Pakistan have been mediating between Washington and Tehran, and that Qatari mediators landed in Tehran on 30 October. On Saturday, President Donald Trump said the United States still has to "take care of" one or two sites in Iran, pointing to Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected underground nuclear complex; Iran denies any nuclear work there. Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, warned that any threat must meet a "geographically unrestricted response."</p>
<p>By Monday the tone had softened. Trump told reporters that Iran wants to "make a deal and that could happen," and CNBC reported that Brent crude fell 7.6 percent to settle at $104.77 a barrel. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would "prefer to do it peacefully." Americans vote in the midterm elections today, and the Post reports that renewed strikes on Iran loom as a prospect afterwards. The calendar then turns east: from Manila, Trump is expected to travel to Shenzhen for the APEC summit, where, the South China Morning Post reports, he will hold his third meeting of the year with Xi.</p>
<h2>The scorecard and our verdict</h2>
<p>On convening power, the edge goes to Beijing, which hosted Muscat, Tehran and Riyadh in one day. Its leverage on Tehran is unproven: China backs Iran's sovereignty in public, but has not yet shown it can move Iran on Hormuz. On hard power at sea, the edge is Washington's; Beijing is offering envoys, not escorts. And Asia's oil buyers remain exposed: Tokyo, Seoul and New Delhi were not in Beijing's room, yet their economies carry the risk.</p>
<p>Our verdict: Beijing is auditioning for the role of peacemaker, and Monday was its strongest day yet. But a seat at the table is not the head of the table. Any deal that reopens Hormuz still runs through Washington, Doha and Islamabad. The real test is Zhai Jun's trip. If China's envoy returns from Tehran with something concrete before Shenzhen, Xi will walk into his meeting with Trump holding a card. If not, Monday was theatre. Either way, Asia's energy security is being negotiated in rooms where most of Asia is not present.</p>
<h2>Sources</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/china-middle-east-iran-saudi-oman-talks-wang-yi-6513771" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNA (Reuters), 2 Nov 2026, "China calls for Mideast dialogue in talks with Iran, Saudi, Oman"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/iran-supreme-leader-warn-us-israel-new-attacks-6509621" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNA (AFP/AP), 31 Oct-1 Nov 2026, "Trump says US still has 'one or two targets' in Iran"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://english.news.cn/20261102/c643e58f82ad4712a810df7f28f0b00b/c.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Xinhua, 2 Nov 2026, "Xi says China willing to work with Arab, GCC countries for regional peace"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://english.news.cn/20261102/d1331d79f25647cf9bbc5d2d67b3dc65/c.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Xinhua, 2 Nov 2026, "Chinese special envoys to make shuttle visits to Middle East, Africa"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202611/1373465.shtml" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Global Times, 2 Nov 2026, "Chinese special envoys, reps to make simultaneous shuttle visits to Gulf, Red Sea, Horn of Africa countries this month: FM"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/peace-stability-in-mideast-require-joint-efforts-chinese-president-tells-omani-sultan/4108436" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anadolu Agency, 2 Nov 2026, "Peace, stability in Mideast require joint efforts, Chinese president tells Omani sultan"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/pakistani-premier-signs-islamabad-mou-as-mediator-between-us-iran/3970578" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anadolu Agency, 18 Jun 2026, "Pakistani premier signs Islamabad MoU as mediator between US, Iran"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/11/02/beijing-launches-diplomatic-flurry-amid-threat-renewed-us-war-with-iran/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Washington Post (Cate Cadell), 2 Nov 2026, "Beijing launches diplomatic flurry amid threat of renewed U.S. war with Iran"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/11/02/oil-prices-fall-as-iran-us-pursue-diplomacy.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNBC, 2 Nov 2026, "Crude oil prices sell off more than 7% on Iran peace talk hopes ahead of U.S. midterms"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65504" target="_blank" rel="noopener">US Energy Information Administration, 16 Jun 2025, "Amid regional conflict, the Strait of Hormuz remains critical oil chokepoint"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-saudi-arabia-agree-resume-ties-re-open-embassies-iranian-state-media-2023-03-10/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reuters, 10 Mar 2023, "Iran and Saudi Arabia agree to resume ties in talks brokered by China"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/gjhdq_665435/2675_665437/2878_663746/2879_663748/202303/t20230311_11039241.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC, 10-11 Mar 2023, "Joint Trilateral Statement by the People's Republic of China, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Islamic Republic of Iran"</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/world/20261102/quad-not-anti-china-says-rubio-as-first-summit-in-two-years-set-before-trump-xi-talks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Korea Times (South China Morning Post), 2 Nov 2026, "Quad not 'anti-China', says Rubio as first summit in two years set before Trump-Xi talks"</a></li>
</ul>