China: Middle East land of its people, not anyone's backyard
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China responds to US President Joe Biden's remarks at the Jeddah Summit, emphasizing that the Middle East belongs to Middle Easterners only.
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Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin
On Saturday, US President Joe Biden told Arab leaders that the US would remain fully engaged in the Middle East and would not cede influence to other world powers.
During a summit in Jeddah, Biden said, “We will not walk away and leave a vacuum to be filled by China, Russia or Iran.”
Commenting on Biden’s statement, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin tweeted: "The #MiddleEast is a land of its people, not anyone’s backyard. There is no so-called 'vacuum' there."
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin：The #MiddleEast is a land of its people, not anyone’s backyard. There is no so-called “vacuum” there. pic.twitter.com/7X7jJyAyzb
— China Embassy in Iraq (@ChinaIraq) July 16, 2022
The Summit, the final stop on Biden's Middle East tour, brought together the Gulf Cooperation Council's six members, which include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan's leaders were also in attendance.
Biden reportedly planned to use it to discuss volatile oil prices and outline Washington's role in the region.
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
