China to send envoy to Middle East in near future amid conflict spillover

BEIJING: China is highly concerned about conflicts in the Middle East and surrounding regions and Beijing will send an envoy to the relevant countries in the near future, foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a daily press conference on Tuesday (Oct 27).

Guo called on related parties to resolve differences through dialogue and negotiation and also expressed concerns about the spillover and transmitting of the Middle East conflict to the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region.

"China will soon send a special envoy to visit countries in the regions to strengthen communication with relevant parties, promote contact and dialogue, help ease tensions and prevent the situation from deteriorating further," Guo said.

Top officials from Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan met Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday to de-escalate the Middle East conflict, as Yemen's Houthis launched new attacks on Saudi Arabia and Egypt approved defence support for the Gulf kingdom.

Meanwhile, tensions between the US and Iran have sharpened recently with President Donald Trump saying last week that his country may strike Iran again.

Last week, the foreign ministers of China and Djibouti met in Beijing, where they agreed that easing tensions in the Middle East is key to addressing security challenges in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea.