Beijing hosted the deputy foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia this weekend for a meeting the Chinese Foreign Ministry described on Monday as a sign of the Communist Party’s commitment to “play[ing] a constructive role” in the Middle East.

The Chinese Communist Party brokered talks between the Sunni and Shiite rivals that led to the announcement in March, from Beijing, of the restoration of diplomatic relations between Tehran and Riyadh. Iran and Saudi Arabia have for years maintained a bitter rivalry, the result of both their religious differences and Iran’s status as the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism. Iran-backed terror entities such as the Houthi jihadist group of Yemen pose a significant threat to Saudi national security.

Saudi Arabia has allowed relations with Iran to thaw in the past two years in part as a result of the worsening ties with America, thanks to belligerent statements and poor diplomacy by the administration of President Joe Biden.

As a candidate in 2020, Biden promised to turn Saudi Arabia, a traditional ally, into a global “pariah.” As president, he outraged Saudi Arabia by delisting the Houthis as a terrorist organization – despite no evidence the group had abandoned terrorism – and received a cold welcome when he traveled to Jeddah to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler, in July 2022.

That awkward meeting preceded what China branded a “honeymoon” with the Mideast power.

Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken bizarrely welcomed China’s involvement in normalizing the Iranian terror regime in June, stating of China’s role in normalizing ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia, “if China takes initiatives that actually help solve problems and advance peace, that’s a good thing, and we support it.”

China has increasingly attempted to elevate its geopolitical profile in the Middle East both as an attempt to expand its economic influence in the region and to support anti-American interests in the region. The Communist Party has been a vocal supporter of the jihadist terror organization Hamas in the aftermath of the October 7 atrocities committed against Israel, which left 1,200 people dead and involved gang rape, the gruesome killing of babies, and desecrating corpses.

According to a report on Sunday by the Iranian outlet Tasnim News, Israel’s self-defense operation in Hamas-dominated Gaza was one of several topics discussed by the Iranian and Saudi officials in Beijing. China’s top diplomat, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, hosted Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Baqeri and Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Abdulkarim El Khereiji to reportedly discuss both cooperation among the three parties and unity on message against Israel for attempting to prevent a repeat of October 7.

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