China’s unusual abstention from UN’s Iran vote highlights diplomatic squeeze amid Middle East conflict

BEIJING: China’s decision to abstain from a recent United Nations Security Council (UNSC) vote condemning Iran’s attacks on Gulf countries has spotlighted a familiar diplomatic playbook under growing pressure as Beijing tries to balance ties amid the widening Middle East conflict, say analysts.

The Mar 11 resolution, which condemned Tehran’s strikes and demanded an immediate halt to hostilities, passed with 13 of the Security Council’s 15 members in favour. China and Russia - both permanent UNSC members - abstained.

It marks a shift from China’s past voting pattern on Iran, having previously backed four rounds of UN sanctions over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme between 2006 and 2010.

For observers, the latest vote encapsulates China’s longstanding approach of emphasising neutrality and opposing what it sees as one-sided resolutions.

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“China’s abstention should be read primarily as continuity rather than a meaningful shift,” Guy Burton, an independent political analyst and China observer, told CNA.

At the same time, with strategic ties to Iran, expanding economic stakes in the Gulf and a broader rivalry with Western powers shaping the diplomatic backdrop, Beijing is increasingly navigating a narrowing space to stay above the fray, they noted.

“It is difficult for Beijing to take a position in this case,” Zeno Leoni, a lecturer at King’s College London, told CNA.

“China could not condemn Iran, its political partner, but the Gulf countries matter more to China in the short term.”

Tabled by Bahrain on behalf of Gulf Cooperation Council states and Jordan, the Mar 11 resolution condemned Iran’s attacks on Gulf countries and Jordan, which is not considered a Gulf state, as a breach of international law and a threat to international peace and security.

It also demanded an immediate halt to the attacks and reaffirmed support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the states targeted.

China said the resolution was “unbalanced” and did not fully reflect “the root cause and the overall picture of the conflict”. The resolution text did not mention the US-Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb 28 that triggered Tehran’s retaliatory attacks on its Gulf neighbours.