China's role in brokering an agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to re-establish diplomatic relations could prove to be "net-positive" and portend a shift in Beijing's global role, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a congressional hearing on Thursday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd March, 2023) China's role in brokering an agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to re-establish diplomatic relations could prove to be "net-positive" and portend a shift in Beijing's global role, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a congressional hearing on Thursday.
"(If the agreement is implemented,) that would be a good thing and for countries around the world to include China if they act responsibly in trying to help bring countries together to lessen tensions," Blinken told the US House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Earlier this month, China hosted talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran in which the two countries agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies in short order.
Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia were cut off in 2016, when Riyadh executed a prominent Shia Muslim scholar, triggering protests in Iran and attacks at its Tehran embassy.
