Middle East

‘Eastern NATO’? China’s real SCO strategy

With growing influence over Russia and Iran, China has greater geopolitical leverage and room to steer the SCO into a bloc that presents an alternative to the Western-dominated order, says academic Alessandro Arduino.

Alessandro Arduino

03 Sep 2026

Why Xi is looking far beyond Washington

Xi Jinping’s diplomatic sprint ahead of his next meeting with Donald Trump sends a clear message: managing ties with Washington matters, but China’s world extends far beyond the US. Lianhe Zaobao China news editor Yang Danxu finds out.

Yang Danxu

02 Sep 2026

Bilahari Kausikan: How to think about foreign policy and geopolitics

Former Singapore diplomat Bilahari Kausikan rues the general lack of understanding about foreign policy and geopolitics. On Ukraine, US-China relations and the wars in the Middle East, he offers some rubrics to fall back on in a speech delivered at the Humanity Matters Charity Conference at the Institute of Lifelong Learning in July. This is an edited version of the transcript.

Bilahari Kausikan

28 Aug 2026

The Mecca agreement’s implications for China

​The Mecca pact among Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey calls for NATO-like collective defence, but a more realistic outcome could be greater mediation roles for each of the parties and gains for China, a close partner of all three. Academic Alessandro Arduino explains.

Alessandro Arduino

21 Aug 2026

What Beijing really means by a ‘strategic partnership’ with Iran

Iran pegs China a certain way in its foreign policy, making it hard for Beijing to meet Tehran’s expectations. China will always proceed with caution, so long as it sees Iran mired by sanctions, economic weakness and regional confrontation, says Chinese academic Fan Hongda.

Fan Hongda

19 Aug 2026

Iran misread what China meant by ‘strategic partner’

Iranians have long considered how China would act in a crisis involving the US and Israel. It got its answer in the recent Iran war, where it has had to lower its expectations and extract practical gains from China, observes Iranian analyst Mohammad Khatibi.

Mohammad Khatibi

11 Aug 2026

Has China really ‘won’ in the Iran war? 

The Iran war has boosted China’s leverage in the energy sector and deepened its commercial presence in the Gulf. But states in the region want China to be a more proactive stakeholder, a role Beijing may not be ready to take on, says researcher Jing Lin.

Jing Lin

30 Jul 2026

China’s G2 reality and Hormuz’s new normal

As the world increasingly sees China and the US as a de facto G2, experts debate China’s global role while warning of a new normal in the Strait of Hormuz. Lianhe Zaobao China news correspondent Edwin Ong highlights key takeaways from the eighth Singapore-China Forum.

Edwin Ong

07 Jul 2026

How Trump’s Iran war boosted Beijing

China’s diplomacy in the Middle East has seen highs and lows, most recently garnering some success in the Iran war, after troughs during the post-7 October 2023 period and initial highs when the US withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021. Chinese academic Fan Hongda explains.

Fan Hongda

18 Jun 2026

The Middle Corridor: Where Turkey’s rise meets China’s ambitions

At a time of geopolitical uncertainty when Central Asian countries are hedging their bets and China’s Belt and Road Initiative itself is evolving, Turkey is rising as a power that can cultivate deeper relations with Central Asia and dominate Eurasian transit flows through the Middle Corridor. Academic Alessandro Arduino looks at the issue.

Alessandro Arduino

09 Jun 2026

Bilahari Kausikan: Uneasy and fragile China-US truce will not hold forever

Retired Singapore diplomat Bilahari Kausikan warns that the current China-US trade truce is fragile, the US-China summit has not brought substantive changes to the US’s Taiwan policy and the Iran war will not end well. Lianhe Zaobao China news correspondent Edwin Ong notes key points from a fireside chat at the Nomura Investment Forum Asia in Singapore.

Edwin Ong

04 Jun 2026

Private guns for China’s shipping lanes as chokepoint risks mount

China’s private security companies are rapidly expanding their capabilities and projecting power precisely where it counts most: the sea lanes of communication. This is especially significant when recent global conflicts are centred on the Strait of Hormuz and other maritime chokepoints of the world. Academic Alessandro Arduino analyses the situation.

Alessandro Arduino

14 May 2026