Trevor Filseth
On Tuesday, June 17, Xi Jinping made his first official statement regarding Israel’s ongoing war with Iran on the sidelines of the “China-Central Asia Summit” in Astana, Kazakhstan. The Chinese leader decried the outbreak of violence, claiming that Beijing “oppose[d] any act that infringes upon the sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity of other countries,” and stressing that escalation was “not in the common interest of the international community.”
Xi’s statement was notable not so much for its content—the language used was unremarkable—as for its timing. The statement came five days after Israel’s initial series of airstrikes on Iran, killing a series of high-ranking IRGC officers and nuclear scientists and seemingly knocking the Natanz nuclear enrichment plant out of action. China’s initial reaction to the crisis was anodyne and inoffensive,
vaguely condemning the escalation in violence and urging a peaceful resolution to the Israel-Iran dispute. Many countries issue similar statements in the opening hours of a crisis, to be supplanted by more substantive ones once the country’s leadership determines what its position should be. But more than a week later—and as other countries in the region and around the world have been far more vocal in their criticisms of Israel—Beijing has seemingly remained indecisive.
The call between Xi and Russian leader Vladimir Putin to discuss the war on Thursday is also instructive in this regard. As the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s readout observes, Putin fiercely condemned the Israeli decision to attack Iranian nuclear facilities, claiming that the attack had been “very dangerous” and insisting on its immediate resolution.
Conversely, Xi “expounded China’s principled position and said that the current situation in the Middle East is very critical, which once again confirms that the world has entered a new period of turbulence and change.” The difference in tone could hardly be more remarkable. Though Xi did also emphasize the importance of a ceasefire—and singled out Israel for starting the conflict—the Chinese leader’s remarks seem to indicate a tacit acceptance of the war.
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