China steps up Middle East diplomacy with Iran and Oman meetings

Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a senior Iranian security official in Beijing on Monday that dialogue and negotiation remained "the only viable path forward" as the region's conflicts drag on.

The Middle East and Gulf "should not become an arena for great-power rivalry and geopolitical conflict," President Xi Jinping said as he hosted Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq.

— Xi Jinping, China's president

Cooperation documents signed by China and Oman

14 agreements

China and Oman signed 14 cooperation documents, on artificial intelligence, green energy and supply chains, and called for safe navigation to resume through the Strait of Hormuz.

What's next

Beijing's special envoy on the Middle East, Zhai Jun, will visit Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia this month, China's foreign ministry said.