China’s global brokerage may reshape Middle East relations
The endless war in Yemen, which has devastated one of the poorest countries on the planet, should be the first litmus test for China's mediating capacity between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
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.
