The view is quite different nearly four months later: the United States and Iran have reached an interim agreement after weeks of peace talks, but the regime in Tehran remains in place and the war is widely seen to have exposed the limits of American power. Meanwhile, Beijing’s own diplomatic clout has appeared to rise – as it’s hosted a parade of foreign leaders and cast itself as a proponent of peace, even earning repeated praise from US President Donald Trump for its response to the war. The world’s second largest economy has also weathered the historic energy crunch triggered by the conflict better than many of its neighbors – in particular due to its copious strategic oil reserves and embrace of green tech and electric vehicles.
Throughout the war, however, Beijing looked to carefully navigate its interests, rather than taking a front seat in conflict resolution or overtly picking sides. While backing its longtime partner Iran rhetorically, China has been measured in its criticism of the US for sparking the conflict and held multiple calls and meetings with Gulf states that came under Iran’s attack. Beijing is widely seen to have pushed Tehran toward talks with Washington earlier this spring, even as Chinese companies –
the US government – have supported Tehran’s weapons procurement. Beijing broadly denies providing weapons to countries in conflict.
