The MENA has long been considered as a region in turmoil, and the problems of security deficit, trust deficit, governance deficit and development deficit have long plagued the governments and people of the MENA.

For any country to achieve smooth and sustainable development, it needs not only a stable and united domestic social environment but also a peaceful and stable external environment. Security issues are transnational in nature, and their resolution requires transnational thinking. Adopting a cooperative and win-win security path requires a consensus on peace and stability among countries within the region, and taking into account the security concerns of neighboring countries while pursuing their own security.

In early March 2023, at the initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping, an Iranian delegation led by Admiral Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, and a Saudi delegation led by Dr. Musaad bin Mohammad Al-Aiban, Minister of State and National Security Advisor, held talks in Beijing. On March 10, with China’s mediating efforts, Iran and Saudi Arabia reach a deal to reopen embassies. The joint trilateral statement by the three countries was issued, announcing an agreement to resume diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The three countries announce their affirmation of the respect for the sovereignty of states and the non-interference in internal affairs of states. Both countries also agree to implement the Security Cooperation Agreement signed in 2001, and the General Agreement for Cooperation in the Fields of Economy, Trade, Investment, Technology, Science, Culture, Sports, and Youth that signed in 1998.

The Middle East version of NATO under the Trump and Biden administrations aims not only to suppress Iran's economic capabilities through economic sanctions, but also to reduce Iran's military capabilities.

The Chinese academic community is enthusiastically praising The Joint Trilateral Statement by the People's Republic of China, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The improvement of bilateral relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia has opened a new chapter for peace in the MENA. Iran and Saudi Arabia have resolved their differences through dialogue and negotiation, proving that the internal forces of security in the MENA are the key forces shaping the future of regional peace.    

Security, stability and development are the world's major trends 

It should not be any external force that truly understands the people, except for the people themselves born and raised there. The analytical framework of the existence of exclusionary and antagonistic camp divisions in the MENA is often the result of the inertia of cold war thinking in the outside world and the result of extremely simplistic theoretical assumptions. Theoretical assumptions do not mean that they accurately represent the real facts, let alone the will of the people of the region with regard to the regional situation.

The fixation on the MENA as a volatile place of sectarian, ideological, and ethnic conflicts, and the long-term repetition of this judgment, has led to the formation of human thinking inertia, while conflict confrontation slowly becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The path to achieving security should be one of peace and justice

The path is one of mutual understanding and consultation and dialogue among countries in the region when problems are encountered, of building step by step a framework for collective, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security in the region, rather than inciting hatred and dividing enemy camps with the logic of eliminating the opponent. 

The U.S. policy of strategic contraction in the Middle East brings the opportunity for regional countries to exercise regional ownership more fully, and there should not be other external powers “filling the power vacuum”. To achieve self-directed security and development, there must be a unanimous will to stabilize and find a relative balance between the interests of all parties, in addition, responsible world powers in international organizations must actively provide or sponsor platforms to promote peace talks, while the key to the implementation of all ideas and plans is always the endogenous willingness to participate in the path.

The MENA has always been a region owned by the people of the MENA. The restoration of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Qatar and between Iran and Saudi Arabia are proof that confidence in reconciliation is not only within the GCC, not only within the Arab states, but can also happen between regional big powers. Cohesiveness for stability can be born across ideologies and across regimes. A cohesive and autonomous MENA can address global challenges in the new era, and should not be mired in the war, turmoil and hatred that have led to development setbacks anymore. In the spirit of mutual respect, dialogue on an equal footing, communication to understand each other's core concerns, and consultation, solutions to any difficult problem can slowly be found.

From poverty and weakness to the second largest economy in the world, China's development experience is to adhere to the road of peaceful development. Country being stronger by relying on the hard work of its people and the maintenance of peace, not on military expansion and colonial plunder. When all countries in the region take the road of peaceful development, people in the region can live together in peace and develop together with dignity.

What is the jointly establishing of a new security framework in the MENA need? 

The least that can be answered unequivocally is that the Middle East security architecture should not be a reprint of the U.S.-designed NATO model. The U.S. vision for integration in the Middle East is to create ties between U.S. allies and partner countries that encompass not only politics and economics, but also security, and to advance a more integrated air and missile defense architecture to prevent and resolve the challenges of the 21st century. The United States is betting on a more integrated Middle East, and that integration is a political, economic and security convergence between U.S. partners under U.S. leadership, excluding Iran and targeting Iran as an adversary. The Middle East version of NATO under the Trump and Biden administrations aims not only to suppress Iran's economic capabilities through economic sanctions, but also to reduce Iran's military capabilities. The so-called “Arab NATO” or “Middle East NATO” launched by the U.S., like what the U.S. did in Afghanistan and Iraq, is a creator of regional instability.

China is and will be a promoter of security and stability, partner for development and prosperity and supporter of the MENA’s development. China supports MENA countries to increase dialogue, attach importance to people's livelihood and development requirements, advocate accommodating the reasonable security concerns of all parties, strengthen the internal forces to maintain regional security, and support regional organizations to play a greater constructive role.

China supports the strategic autonomy of the MENA countries and opposes external interference in internal affairs. China hopes that the resumption of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia will have a positive spillover effect on regional peace and world peace, and provide successful experience in resolving the Syrian issue, the Yemeni issue, the Palestinian question and even the Ukrainian crisis.

The resumption of diplomacy between Iran and Saudi Arabia leads to a new geopolitical situation in West Asia for the United States and Israel. As Wang Yi summed up the Iran-Saudi Arabia Beijing Dialogue: the Beijing Dialogue is “a victory for dialogue” and “a victory for peace”. The success of the Beijing talks is another testament to the power of diplomacy and dialogue, and that political negotiations are the right way to resolve conflicts, rather than insisting on confrontation.

With the virtue, heart and deeds of all countries moving in the same direction of peaceful development, an independent, self-reliant, collaborative and mutual beneficial MENA will surely lead to a bright future of peace, prosperity and stability.

(ZHANG Yuan, Professor, The Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, China)