Top Chinese diplomat meets delegations of Saudi Arabia, Iran

Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, meets with Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Elkhereiji and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Ali Bagheri Kani, in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)

BEIJING, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, met on Friday in Beijing with Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Elkhereiji and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Ali Bagheri Kani.

The guests are in China for the first meeting of the China-Saudi Arabia-Iran trilateral joint committee.

Wang, also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, said that China always supports the people of the Middle East in independently exploring development paths, supports the Middle East countries in working together to solve regional security issues, and supports Saudi Arabia and Iran in continuously advancing the process of improving relations.

China is willing to take this trilateral meeting as an opportunity to inject new impetus into the good-neighborly friendship between Saudi Arabia and Iran and make new contributions to promoting peace and stability in the Middle East, he added.

Wang put forward three suggestions on continuing to advance the process of improving relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Firstly, he called for unwavering adherence to the strategic choice of reconciliation. It is hoped that the two sides will continue to enhance mutual trust through dialogue and consultation, and achieve lasting and comprehensive good-neighborly friendship.

Secondly, he suggested further progress in improving relations. China welcomes the two sides to actively explore cooperation and expand personnel exchanges in such fields as economy, trade, security and people-to-people exchanges, and stands ready to strengthen exchanges with the two sides to help improve their relations.

Thirdly, he said that the two sides should reject external interference. The destiny of the Middle East should be in the hands of the people of the regional countries.

China has always stood on the side of Arab and Muslim countries and supported the restoration of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, Wang said.

Elkhereiji and Bagheri thanked China for hosting the meeting, saying Saudi Arabia and Iran welcome and support China's greater role in the development of the Middle East.

During the trilateral meeting, Saudi Arabia and Iran expressed their commitment to the full implementation of the Beijing agreement. China stressed that it will continue to play a constructive role and support Saudi Arabia and Iran in continuing to take steps to strengthen relations. The three sides discussed trilateral cooperation in various fields.