China’s muted response over war in Iran reflects Beijing’s delicate calculus as a concerned onlooker

China has perfected the role of concerned onlooker as the Middle East conflict spreads across the region.

With no direct role in the conflict and some 4,200 miles (6,800 kilometers) away from the action, Beijing has a little more breathing room to work out the calculus on how the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran affects its interests. Yet the recent events nonetheless place China in a strategically uncomfortable position. The U.S. campaign is the most significant operation conducted by China’s main strategic, economic and military rival since the Iraq war, and it is unfolding across a region central to China’s energy security and commercial ambitions.

Yet Beijing’s response has been muted at best. As a longtime observer of China’s changing relationship with the Middle East, I see China’s calculated response as reflecting its limited leverage to control events as well as the transactional nature of its relationship with Iran.

Photo by Presidency of Iran / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

معهد الشرق الأوسط (MEI) هو منظمة تعليمية مستقلة وغير حزبية وغير ربحية. لا يشارك المعهد في أي أنشطة دعوية، وآراء الباحثين فيه تعبر عن آرائهم الشخصية. يرحب المعهد بالتبرعات المالية، لكنه يحتفظ بالسيطرة التحريرية الكاملة على أعماله، ولا تعكس منشوراته سوى آراء المؤلفين. للاطلاع على قائمة المتبرعين للمعهد، يرجى النقر هنا.