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By anchoring the deal alongside Pakistan and Qatar, China can successfully stabilise the Persian Gulf while projecting itself as the premier peacebroker in West Asia
The combined presence of Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership in Beijing is aimed at securing an absolute, long-term geopolitical commitment from China. File pic
Pakistan is set to hold a high-stakes strategic session with China on Monday to discuss the latest progress of the backchannel United States-Iran peace talks. The development comes as Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif continues his four-day official visit to China, anchoring a series of high-level bilateral and economic engagements with the top Chinese leadership.
Adding immense strategic weight to the ongoing mission, top security sources confirm that Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces, Field Marshal Asim Munir, is likely to depart for Beijing late Sunday night. Arriving fresh from his high-stakes weekend sprint in Tehran, Munir will directly brief Chinese President Xi Jinping and senior security officials on the intricate details of his recent interactions with the Iranian leadership, effectively looping Beijing into the core of the sensitive mediation pipeline.
Seeking the Great Power Anchor: The Hunt for a Sovereign Guarantor
According to highly placed diplomatic and intelligence sources, the combined presence of Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership in Beijing is aimed at securing an absolute, long-term geopolitical commitment from China. While Pakistan has successfully acted as the “direct messenger” and Qatar has functioned as the primary diplomatic facilitator between Washington and Tehran, the peace track has hit a wall due to deep, historical mistrust between the two primary warring capitals.
Tehran has made it explicitly clear to international intermediaries that it will not sign a permanent truce or a foundational memorandum of understanding (MoU) based on simple American assurances. Sources reveal that the entire success of the current 14-point conflict-termination framework hinges on a singular pivot: if China formally agrees to step in as a third-party sovereign guarantor for Iran, ensuring that Washington complies with any agreed-upon sanctions relief and maritime asset releases, the elusive peace deal will be finalised soon.
The Hormuz Equation: Why Beijing Wants the Blockade Extinguished
For Beijing, accepting the role of a guarantor aligns perfectly with its own core economic vulnerabilities. The ongoing maritime blockade and aggressive tolling system enforced by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz have severely disrupted China’s vital energy supply lines, spiking global container freight rates and threatening manufacturing outputs across Asia.
By actively anchoring the peace deal alongside Pakistan and Qatar, China can successfully stabilise the Persian Gulf while projecting itself as the premier peacebroker in West Asia. With all primary interlocutors, facilitators, and regional guarantors increasingly hopeful for a diplomatic breakthrough, Monday’s high-stakes huddle in Beijing is being viewed as the final, critical step needed to move the US-Iran peace track from a precarious ceasefire into a permanent, verifiable treaty.
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