Reuters: US strikes against Iran create diplomatic dilemma for Xi Jinping

The US escalation against Iran has complicated matters for Chinese leader Xi Jinping ahead of a planned summit with US President Donald Trump in Beijing later this month, Reuters reports.

The agency notes that US and Israeli strikes led to the deaths of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior officials, heightening tensions in the Middle East. While China has condemned the US actions as “unacceptable” and called for restraint, Beijing has limited capacity to influence Washington and must act pragmatically. 

Xi faces the choice of either engaging with Trump on the world stage or skipping the summit, which has not yet been officially scheduled.

The conflict carries practical and economic risks for China, which relies on Iranian oil. Disruptions to supply through the Strait of Hormuz could raise prices and impact the manufacturing sector. 

Experts suggest China is unlikely to intervene militarily, allowing Washington to manage the situation while reinforcing Beijing’s narrative of the US as a destabilising force internationally.

By Jeyhun Aghazada