Xi Jinping casts China as a peacemaker at BRICS summit including Iran and UAE

Xi Jinping showing up at a BRICS summit with Iran and the UAE in the room and then casting himself as a Middle East “peacemaker” is the kind of thing that sounds soothing until you remember who’s talking. Beijing isn’t volunteering for a church committee. It’s auditioning to be the alternative to Washington, and it picked a stage full of countries that want U.S. power checked but still want U.S. markets and security when it suits them. China wants the microphone, not the mess.

BRICS is a convenient prop for that. Xi can talk about “dialogue” while China keeps buying discounted oil, selling surveillance tech, and expanding influence one port, one loan, one “partnership” at a time. Iran gets to look less isolated. The UAE gets to hedge its bets. India gets to host and act like it’s corralling the room. And China gets to say, with a straight face, that it’s the calming force in the region. This is diplomacy as branding.

The uncomfortable part is that Xi wouldn’t be trying this if America hadn’t made itself so easy to caricature. When our Middle East policy swings wildly depending on who’s in charge and what the latest campus protest demands, it leaves a vacuum. China steps in with vague promises and a checkbook, and some capitals will take the meeting even if they don’t trust the salesman. A weak, distracted U.S. invites cheap alternatives.

We don’t need to copy China’s model, and we definitely don’t need to pretend BRICS is some peace coalition. We need steadier American leadership that puts our interests first and doesn’t apologize for having interests. That means clearer lines on Iran, real leverage with partners like the UAE, and the confidence to say “no” when “peacemaking” is just code for pushing America out. Xi is telling us what he wants. We should listen, then act like we heard him.