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China

July 11, 2026

Beijing 2:22 pm

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A general view shows docked ships at the harbor of the Sudanese city of Port Sudan, on April 27, 2021.

Sudan, China ink memorandum to develop seaports: What to know

The deal comes as Sudan seeks to revive its maritime sector and revitalize its Red Sea ports.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) shakes hands with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud before a family photo for the attendees of a meeting of foreign ministers from Arab and Muslim-majority nations at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing on November 20, 2023. The international community must take urgent action to stop the "humanitarian disaster" unfolding in Gaza, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told visiting diplomats from Arab and Muslim-majority nations on Novembe

Explainer

Saudi FM concludes China visit amid Trump-MBS friction: What to know

Saudi Arabia is still absorbing the war’s security fallout and is widening its circle by leaning more on Beijing as a diplomatic counterweight to Washington and as a partner that can engage Tehran.

Latest News

Saudi Arabia's FM heads to China amid differences with US on Iran war

PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Why the Hormuz oil shock never became an energy catastrophe

A tourist boat passes near crude oil tankers, bulk carriers, and other vessels anchored off Port Sultan Qaboos in Muscat, Oman, June 19, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Explainer

Sanctions relief and reconstruction: How China benefits from Trump-Iran deal

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Benjamin Houghton

In Durham, reporting on China in the Middle East

Yun Sun

In Washington, DC, reporting on China-Middle East ties

Dale Aluf

In Amsterdam, reporting on China in the Middle East

Emil Avdaliani

Andrea Ghiselli

In Shanghai, reporting on China in the Middle East

Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks with Tehran's Chamber of Commerce, June 17, 2026.

After US-Iran deal, Ghalibaf says Tehran seeks deeper ties with China

“China must believe and will believe that we are not just a customer or a trading partner, but a partner in every sense,” Ghalibaf said.

An unmanned aerial vehicle is seen during a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan and the end of World War II, in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on September 3, 2025. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP) (Photo by GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images)

Explainer

How Iran war is giving China an opening in Gulf drone market

The ongoing war has helped China carve out a growing role in Gulf defense by offering cheaper, faster and less restricted drone capabilities.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) stands next to former Syrian rebel leader Issam Buwaydani (C), during a function in Douma on April 23, 2026. Buwaydani returned to Damascus on April 23 nearly a year after his detention for unknown reasons in the United Arab Emirates, a Syrian military official told AFP. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP via Getty Images)

Explainer

China wary of Syria's Uyghur militants, but business keeps growing

China’s biggest advantage in Syria may be not aggressive spending but the lack of meaningful Western competition.

TOPSHOT - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) meets with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York City on September 22, 2025. (Photo by Bing Guan / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Feature

With sanctions off, what’s keeping Syria on US terror blacklist?

Despite President Donald Trump’s pledge to lift all sanctions on Syria, the country's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism continues to discourage investment.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (C) waves as he returns to his car after visiting the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's Basta neighbourhood, on October 12, 2024. At least 22 people were killed in Israeli strikes on a densely populated area of central Beirut on October 10, the Lebanese health ministry said, with a security source saying a Hezbollah figure was the target. (Photo by Ibrahim AMRO / AFP) (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Speaker, negotiator, China envoy: What Ghalibaf's accumulated powers mean for Iran

Iran's appointment of Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf to oversee the China relationship demonstrates his ability to operate across Iran's fractured institutional landscape and produce political outcomes.

Jamshid Jamshidi

By Jamshid Jamshidi

trump xi

Analysis

Why China didn’t hand Trump a breakthrough on Iran

Trump's landmark three-day visit to China — the first for a US president since 2017 — included plenty of fanfare, flattery and awkward selfies but failed to produce deals or breakthroughs on Iran.

Joyce Karam

By Rosaleen Carroll , Joyce Karam