As the war in the Middle East enters its second month, choking the world's energy supply and sending oil prices soaring, China is trying to step in as a peacemaker.
It comes as President Donald Trump says U.S. military action in Iran could end in 'two to three weeks', but there is no clear sense yet of how that will happen or what comes after.
China joins Pakistan, which has emerged as an unlikely mediator in the U.S.-Israel war against Iran. Officials in Beijing and Islamabad have presented a five-point plan with the aim of bringing about a ceasefire and re-opening the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Pakistan, which has been a U.S. ally in the past, seems to have won over Trump to mediate this conflict.
Beijing, however, is entering the fray as a rival to Washington, ahead of crucial trade talks between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Trump next month.
China's backing is 'very important', says Zhu Yongbiao, a Middle East expert and director of the Centre for Afghanistan Studies at Lanzhou University. 'Morally, politically and diplomatically, China is providing comprehensive support with the hope that Pakistan can play a more distinctive role.'
It is also a turnaround for Beijing, whose official response to the war has so far been quite muted. So why is China stepping in now?
The peace plan was drafted after Pakistan's foreign minister flew to Beijing to ask for Chinese support for the country's efforts to negotiate an end to this conflict.
His efforts appear to have worked. China's Foreign Ministry said the two were making 'new efforts towards advocating for peace.' The joint statement agreed that dialogue and diplomacy were 'the only viable option to resolve conflicts', and it called for waterways, including the blockaded strait, to be protected.
It's not just about oil; although that will be a concern, China, the biggest importer of crude oil in the world, has enough stockpiled to get it through the next few months.
Beijing will likely have decided to play the role of peacemaker because the war in Iran jeopardizes something Xi covets: stability. China needs a stable global economy as it is heavily reliant on selling goods around the world as it tries to revive an ailing domestic economy.
'If the rest of the world begins to slow down economically because of an energy shock, that's going to be tough for China's factories and exporters,' says Matt Pottinger, Chairman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracy's China Program.
China's partnerships across the world come with no security guarantees or military backing. For Beijing, its economy comes first - and it is this economic interdependence with countries across the region which gives it leverage and helps it project some influence.
China has played the role of peacemaker in the Middle East before, with limited success. In 2023 it brokered a deal between bitter rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, which have long stood on opposing sides in proxy wars in the Middle East. After China took up the mantel as mediator, the two sides agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations.
A year later, Beijing hosted the leaders of 14 Palestinian factions, which resulted in talkings aimed at forming a national unity government.
