China Steps Up Middle East Diplomacy With Iranian Official Meeting and Oman Sultan Visit

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, in Beijing on Monday, November 2, 2026, and told him dialogue and negotiation were the way to resolve conflicts in West Asia. Wang also said China supports Iran in safeguarding its sovereignty and security, according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua. Earlier the same day, President Xi Jinping hosted Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on his first state visit to China. Xi said the West Asia and Gulf region should not become a battleground for great-power rivalry. In a joint statement, Oman said it backs Chinese peace proposals and wants Beijing to play a greater role in achieving lasting regional stability. China's Foreign Ministry announced that Zhai Jun, its special envoy on the Middle East, will visit Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia this month. The ministry also listed Ethiopia, Djibouti, Egypt and Eritrea among planned diplomatic destinations. The moves come amid the US-Israel war on Iran and disruptions to commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Left-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while right-leaning and alternative outlets had. Breitbart, on the right, frames it as a "diplomatic blitz" tied to Hormuz shipping closures. It leads with the Foreign Ministry's plan to send diplomats across the Middle East and eastern Africa, stresses Oman's position opposite Iran on the strait, and notes China's heavy reliance on goods passing through it. It also credits Operation Epic Fury with eliminating Ali Khamenei, calls Xi a dictator, and mentions China's "Arctic Silk Road" plan. Al Jazeera and The Hindu, the alternative outlets, focus instead on Wang's call for dialogue and the Oman statement. Al Jazeera adds its Beijing correspondent Katrina Yu, who said China's diplomacy had stalled for weeks or months and that Beijing is frustrated and wants to be seen entering the process. All sides agree on the meetings, the envoy's trip and China's push for a bigger role, but differ on whether the main driver is shipping and economics or the war's diplomacy.