China Courts Gulf Leaders Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit

Oman's sultan, Haitham bin Tariq, walked past an honor guard alongside China's president, Xi Jinping, in Beijing on Monday, the first visit to China by an Omani head of state since the two countries established diplomatic relations nearly 50 years ago, according to the Guardian. The handshake came days before a separate round of meetings in which China's foreign minister sat down with officials from Saudi Arabia and Iran — a cluster of diplomacy that lands just two weeks before Donald Trump is expected to meet Xi at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen on November 18 and 19, the Guardian reported.

What meetings did China hold this week?

Beyond the Oman visit, Wang Yi, China's foreign minister, met separately with Musaad bin Mohammed Al Aiban, Saudi Arabia's national security adviser, and with Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran's national security council, according to the Guardian's reporting on Chinese government readouts of the talks. The sequence of meetings — a sitting Gulf head of state in Beijing, followed by senior security officials from both Riyadh and Tehran — amounts to what the Guardian's senior China correspondent, Amy Hawkins, described as a diplomatic salvo aimed at Gulf capitals.

Why does Oman's visit carry extra weight?

Haitham bin Tariq's trip is notable less for what was announced than for what it represents on the calendar: the first visit by an Omani head of state to China since the countries opened diplomatic relations roughly five decades ago, the Guardian reported. Oman has long served as a quiet interlocutor between Washington, Tehran and Gulf capitals, and its ruler's appearance in Beijing — timed ahead of the Trump-Xi summit — signals that Beijing wants a seat at tables where Gulf security, not just Gulf trade, gets discussed.

What is Xi Jinping saying about the Middle East?

According to a Chinese readout of the Beijing meeting cited by the Guardian, Xi told Haitham that the Middle East "should not become an arena for 'great power rivalry and geopolitical conflicts.'" Xi added: "China has always been actively committed to stopping conflict and promoting peace, and hopes to contribute wisdom and solutions to resolving the regional security dilemma," the readout said, as reported by the Guardian. Wang Yi struck a similar note after his own talks, saying China was willing to "play a constructive role in helping the region emerge from the shadow of the pandemic and achieve lasting peace and stability," per the Guardian's account of the Chinese statement.

What did China tell Iran specifically?

In his meeting with Bagheri Kani, Wang said China supported Iran "in safeguarding its sovereignty and security," according to the Guardian's report of the Chinese readout. The same Chinese account quoted the Iranian official as saying Tehran looked forward to China "playing a more important role in international and regional peace." Those lines, drawn entirely from Beijing's own description of the conversation, give no detail on any specific commitments tied to sanctions, trade or security arrangements — only the language both sides chose to publish.

Why does the timing matter before the Trump-Xi summit?

The Guardian's framing ties the flurry of Gulf diplomacy directly to the calendar: Trump is expected to attend APEC in Shenzhen on November 18 and 19, putting him in China for a face-to-face with Xi roughly two weeks after the Oman visit and the Wang Yi meetings. The Guardian's analysis argues that friction between Washington and Tehran creates room for Beijing to position itself as a steadier interlocutor for Gulf capitals — a reading the outlet attributes to its own China desk rather than to any named U.S. or Gulf official. No Gulf government statement responding to the Chinese readouts appears in the available reporting, and the Guardian piece does not quote any Trump administration official on the sequence of meetings.

What is documented, from Beijing's side, is a head-of-state visit with symbolic weight, two bilateral meetings with security officials from rival regional powers, and public language about avoiding "great power rivalry" delivered in the run-up to a summit where Trump and Xi are expected to discuss a broader set of disputes. Whether the words translate into concrete agreements — on trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz, on Iran's nuclear file, or on Gulf security guarantees — is not addressed in the readouts the Guardian obtained.