Xi Tells Oman's Sultan the Gulf Must Not Become a Great-Power Battleground as China Sends Its Envoy to Tehran

Chinese President Xi Jinping told Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq on Monday that the Middle East and the Gulf should not become an arena for great-power rivalry and geopolitical conflict. Xi said China wants to help bring lasting peace to a region more than eight months into the US-Israeli war on Iran.

According to China's Foreign Ministry, Xi told the sultan that the world is going through profound changes and that peace in the Gulf has to be protected jointly by all parties. He said China has consistently worked to stop the war and is ready to contribute solutions to the region's security problems. He also offered closer coordination with Arab states, including the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council.

A first for Oman

Sultan Haitham arrived in Beijing on Sunday for a two-day state visit, the first by an Omani head of state since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1978. People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng met him on arrival, which signals that finance is on the agenda alongside diplomacy.

According to Omani state media, the sultan said development and stability go together and called for disputes to be settled peacefully and in line with international law. He also said Oman was open to negotiating a preferential trade and investment agreement with China. China is already Oman's largest trading partner and a major buyer of its crude oil, and the two capitals have had direct flights since last year.

Envoys head to Tehran and Riyadh

Later on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing's special envoy to the Middle East, Zhai Jun, would visit Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia in early and mid-November. Separate envoys will visit Ethiopia, Djibouti, Egypt and Eritrea. China had said last week that it would send envoys to the region to encourage de-escalation.

Taken together, the meeting and the envoy announcement show Beijing taking a more visible role than usual. China has traditionally kept a low profile in Gulf diplomacy, apart from brokering the Saudi-Iran détente in 2023. Oman is a deliberate choice of partner. Muscat has long served as a discreet channel between Washington and Tehran, and it hosted rounds of US-Iran nuclear talks in 2025.

The backdrop: stalled talks and a US vote

Xi's remarks came as efforts to end the conflict reached a tense point. Iranian negotiators left Doha on Sunday after three days of talks with Qatari mediators on a two-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. An official briefed on the talks said on Monday that the departure was not caused by a breakdown, that a draft proposal was being circulated for feedback, and that a follow-up meeting was possible.

The US midterm elections are on Tuesday. President Donald Trump has said Washington will not launch new strikes before the vote, but he has not ruled out military action afterwards. Iran's military has warned that another round of fighting could last longer than the last.

Why it matters beyond the Gulf

The closure of Hormuz has kept global oil prices high for months, which hits large importers such as China and India hardest. Beijing buys more Gulf crude than any other country, so a durable reopening matters to it commercially as well as diplomatically. Its message that the Gulf should not be a contest between major powers is aimed at Washington, and it puts China forward as an alternative mediator just as the US-led track faces its most uncertain week.

Whether Beijing can turn this into real influence will depend on what Zhai Jun brings back from Tehran and Riyadh. That will become clearer once the US election result shapes Washington's next move.

This is an original summary based on public reporting. See our editorial policy for how we source, write, and correct our stories.