Chinese foreign minister criticises US ‘meddling’ in Middle East as Joe Biden continues tour of region

Wang Yi told his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad that Beijing believes the people of the region should follow their own path

Biden is currently trying to shore up the US role in the region, where China is becoming an increasingly influential presence

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Joe Biden met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 9:02pm, 16 Jul 2022

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has hit out at US President Joe Biden’s trip to the Middle East, telling his Syrian counterpart that the region’s future should be decided by its people.

“China firmly supports the people of the Middle East in exploring the path of development independently and supports Middle Eastern countries in resolving regional security issues through unity and self-empowerment,” Wang told Faisal Mekdad via video-link on Friday, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

“We believe that our brothers and sisters in the Middle East have the ability and wisdom to maintain the overall situation of peace and stability and resolve the issues left over from history.”

He also accused Western powers of meddling, saying: “The United States and the West should change their old habits and stop pointing fingers and interfering in the affairs of the Middle East at every turn, trying to transform the region by their own standards.”

Wang was speaking during Biden’s first Middle East tour as president in an effort to reinforce what the White House called the “ironclad” US commitment to the region.

During a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Biden told reporters he wanted to “ promote US interests” and undo the “mistake” of “walking away from the region”.

US engagement with the region has been defined in recent years by suspicion created by the long war in Iraq, its confrontation with Iran and increasingly strained relations with Saudi Arabia following the murder of The Washington Post journalist Jamal Kashoggi, which US intelligence blamed on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.