Middle East suffering from conflicts due to foreign interventions: China

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Though there is "no power vacuum" in the Middle East, the region is suffering from conflicts due to foreign interventions, China’s foreign minister said.

Wang Yi added the hasty US pullout from the region last year has “caused chaos in the region,” the Chinese daily Global Times reported on Monday.

Wang made these remarks in conversation with the media this Saturday after hosting top diplomats from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Turkiye, and Iran and the secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Wuxi city of East China’s Jiangsu province.

“The Middle East has a long history, unique cultures, and plentiful natural resources, but at the same time, the region is suffering from long-existing unrest and conflicts due to foreign interventions,” Wang said.

The GCC secretary-general and regional foreign ministers were on a five-day trip to China besides top diplomats of Turkiye and Iran who each paid a one-day visit to Wuxi.

“China has always supported the Middle East to realize stability and to speed up its development. We believe the people of the Middle East are the masters of the Middle East. There is never a 'power vacuum,' and there is no need of 'patriarchy from outside,'” Wang asserted.

The Chinese top diplomat claimed the facts have “repeatedly proven that the international community may contribute to stability in the Middle East but it should not create trouble.”

“The Middle East needs development, and regional countries can learn from external models but should not directly copy those models. Neo-liberalism is not a panacea,” Wang told reporters.