Xi Jinping’s meeting with Abu Dhabi crown prince highlights Gulf turn towards China

Chinese President Xi Jinping ‌called for a more robust, resilient and dynamic ‌strategic partnership with the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, as Beijing intensified what observers have described as its “quiet but pragmatic” diplomacy during the Iran crisis.

In a meeting with Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu ‌Dhabi, Xi unveiled a four-point proposal to safeguard Middle East stability, stressing the importance of national sovereignty, the international rule of law and the central role of the United Nations.

“The authority of the international rule of law should be upheld and cannot be used when convenient and discarded when not,” Xi said, according to state news agency Xinhua.

“We must not allow the world to revert to the law of the jungle,” he said, in remarks widely seen as an implicit criticism of the US-Israeli war against Iran, which has choked oil supply chains and plunged the global energy markets into chaos.

Xi’s proposal also stressed the importance of peaceful coexistence and called for a common security structure for the Gulf that ensured the “safety of personnel, facilities and institutions”.

It called for full respect for national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, alongside closer coordination of development and security.

“Security is the prerequisite for development, and development is the guarantee of security,” Xi said. “China is willing to share the opportunities of Chinese modernisation to strengthen the foundations of regional development and stability.”

South China Morning Post