What does the China-Pakistan plan for the Iran crisis mean for a post-war order?
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Beijing on Tuesday.
Photo: Xinhua via AP By issuing a joint five-point plan on the Iran crisis on Tuesday, China and Pakistan have laid out what Chinese analysts described as a “feasible path” towards a ceasefire and renewed diplomacy.
At the same time, the move quietly signalled an early effort to shape the post-war Middle East order in a region where the long-standing US-dominated security framework was already facing growing strain and uncertainty, the observers said.
In recent weeks, regional powers have emerged as mediators to prevent Iran’s total collapse and the permanent closure of global energy lanes.
Turkey has joined Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to form a united regional diplomatic front.
During talks in Islamabad earlier this week, the four countries’ foreign ministers sought to establish a formal peace-broker channel distinct from a Western-led plan.
The initiative by China and Pakistan – following talks in Beijing on Tuesday between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar – called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the prompt start of peace talks.
It also urged guarantees for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of Iran and Gulf states.
It further called for restoring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and a peace framework grounded in the UN Charter and international law.
Washington has yet to formally respond to the joint plan, but US President Donald Trump said hours later that America could end its military operations against Iran “within two to three weeks”.
Trump also said “we’ll be leaving very soon” and that Tehran “doesn’t have to make a deal” as a prerequisite for the US to conclude Operation Epic Fury.
Niu Xinchun, vice-president of Ningxia University and a prominent Chinese expert on Middle East politics, described Beijing’s points as “step-by-step linked” to the war’s trajectory. “Without halting the fighting, no other issues can even be discussed,” Niu said of the first point calling for an unconditional ceasefire.
He noted that while the initiative avoided direct mention of the US or Israel, it was clearly aimed at their recent actions, particularly Washington’s claims of negotiating with Iran while expanding the war and threatening further strikes.
With the conflict widening beyond the battlefield into energy and industrial sites in
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