The agreement brokered by Wang Yi, China’s highest-ranking diplomat, between his Saudi and Iranian colleagues is a great leap forward for Beijing’s superpower status in a region that is key to its oil and gas supplies — and a slap in the face for Washington.
China under President Xi Jinping has become the main economic competitor to America worldwide, but never had it risked its weight in a political stake, such as giving international legitimacy to Iran, which the United States and many in the West view as a pariah state.
