UN Ambassador's speech on Iran nuclear issue, Saudi delegation to Beijing, Chinese tourists to Saudi, Chinese solar in Oman
Envoy highlights China's dedication to restoring Iranian nuclear plan - Xinhua. Fu Cong, China’s ambassador to the UN, spoke at a UNSC briefing on the Iranian nuclear issue on Monday. The JCPoA was the focal point, which seems strange at this point. Beijing’s position: restore the JCPoA first, then address Iran’s nuclear program. I think most folks thinking about the issue would say ‘let’s skip the first step and get right to the heart of the matter’ but for China, its involvement in the JCPoA is important, and the US withdrawal confirmed a lot of Beijing’s assumptions about the US as a global power. Whether or not you think the JCPoA was a useful agreement, I think the US withdrawal was a serious mistake. Fu’s speech offered four observations that give us a sense of Beijing’s thinking on the Iranian nuclear issue:
First, he emphasized the need to adhere to the goal of political and diplomatic settlement, urging parties to "step up dialogue and engagement" to resume JCPOA's complete and effective implementation.
He noted the crucial role of the EU as a coordinator and called on the United States to take responsibility, show goodwill, and create conditions conducive to the plan's prompt return to the right track.
Second, Fu criticized the "unilateral sanctions" imposed by the United States against Iran, describing them as detrimental to international fairness and justice.
He urged the United States to "swiftly lift its illegal sanctions" and create conditions for normalized trade and economic cooperation with Iran, paving the way for future negotiations.
Third, Fu called for fostering a positive atmosphere for negotiation, stating that "pressuring Iran does not help the matter."
Fourth, Fu addressed regional security issues, emphasizing that safeguarding JCPOA contributes to regional peace and stability.
In isolation, this seems to be pretty boilerplate stuff, but in the context of Iran’s role in the Israel-Hamas war and escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, there’s no political space for this.
China Daily also reported on his speech, and had this quote:
Certain countries should stop using the Iranian nuclear issue to advance geopolitical agendas and refrain from linking the nuclear negotiations with other issues, as this will only disrupt the negotiation process and undermine diplomatic efforts regarding the Iranian nuclear issue.
One can take a critical view of the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, maximum pressure, and the state of its diplomacy with Iran, but the messaging from China’s MOFA is at best incredibly tone deaf or at worst incredibly naive.
Saudi Arabia, China to enhance military and defense cooperation - Saudi Gazette. No details but KSA’s Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman is leading a delegation in Beijing. I’ll be watching this space.
Saudi Arabia expands access for Chinese tourists with new agreement - Arab News. Chinese tourism to the Middle East is way up, and Saudi has been pushing to remake itself as a destination as part of its Saudi Vision 2030. According to this, the Saudi Tourism Authority has been introducing measures to draw in more Chinese tourists:
The Saudi Tourism Authority has played a crucial role in visa facilitation, reduced fees, improving air connectivity, and ensuring destination readiness with Mandarin-language information available on www.visitsaudi.cn, Mandarin signage at airports, and Mandarin-speaking tour guides and hotel staff.
The UAE had implemented similar incentives in the mid-2010s and saw a surge in tourism from China.
Chinese solar cell maker to build 10 GW factory in Oman. In line with China’s push for a bigger role in renewables, Hainan Drinda New Energy Technology has an agreement with Oman, valued at just under $700 million, to build a 10 GW cell manufacturing facility in Oman. From Renewables Now:
Hainan Drinda's project would be the first PV cell plant in Oman and comes amid the country's ambitious plans for solar energy expansion and green hydrogen deployment.
The Arab country plans to connect five new solar power plants with a combined capacity of 3 GW to the grid by 2029. Additionally, Oman will need to install gigawatt-scale solar capacity to support green hydrogen production. State-owned company Hydrom has already allocated land plots to several projects in the first two rounds of the green hydrogen tender. Once implemented, these projects will help Oman achieve its goal of producing over 1 million tonnes of green hydrogen annually by the end of this decade.
So this looks like another good case of Chinese firms aligning with development agendas in the region.