An alternative to US power

While Trump talks about a two-week deadline to decide whether to join Israel's campaign against Israel, China and Russia are trying to seize the opportunity to present themselves to the world as an alternative to US power.

Allegedly, both V. Putin and Xi Jinping condemned Israel's actions, calling them a violation of the United Nations Charter and other norms of international law (at least that's how the Kremlin portrayed the conversation).

Official Beijing has chosen a more moderate tone and has not rushed to condemn Israel. The Chinese president has called on leaders on both sides,"especially Israel," to cease fire as soon as possible and avoid new unrest in the region.

Message to Trump

In a veiled message to Trump, Xi Jinping noted that"major powers" with special influence over the parties to the conflict should strive to "reduce tensions, not the opposite."

Beijing has long accused Washington of sowing instability and tension in the Middle East - and many Chinese experts now cite the crisis in Iran as an illustrative example.

Liu Zhongmin, a Middle East expert at Shanghai University of International Relations, sees the Israel-Iran conflict as another symptom of Trump's second term and his opportunistic, chaotic, and transactional Middle East policy.

"Trump has destroyed the authority and credibility of US Middle East policy, undermined American leadership and damaged its image in the eyes of allies. Not to mention the diminished chances of intimidating or deterring enemies"

Middle East expert Liu Zhongmin

Another eternal war?

Many in China believe that Trump is about to take a dangerous step and drag the US into another so-called eternal war in the Middle East, CNN notes.

Although before starting his second term, Trump emphasized that Washington would devote all its strength and efforts to containing China's ambitions, it has been five months since efforts in both the Ukraine-Russia war and the war in Gaza have yielded no results, and now there is the threat of involvement in the Israeli-Iranian conflict.

Like Russia, China has also offered to mediate in the conflict - once again presenting itself as an alternative to the United States.

In a phone call with Putin, Xi Jinping reportedly made four proposals to ease tensions, including resolving the Iranian nuclear issue through dialogue and protecting civilians, Chinese sources say. It is not yet clear whether such words would translate into action if necessary.

At the beginning of Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza, China made a similar offer and sent a special envoy to the region for peace talks, but it was of no use. However, now that the public debate is almost daily about whether the US is still a world leader, presenting itself as an alternative to Washington is an undoubted benefit that China will certainly not refuse.

Trump reassured Putin

US President D. Trump himself sent a blunt message to V. Putin a few days ago, rejecting his offer to mediate in the Israeli-Iranian conflict.

"He actually offered to help mediate, and I said, 'Do me a favor, mediate for yourself. Let's mediate for Russia first, okay?'" Trump told reporters outside the White House."I said, 'Vladimir, let's mediate for Russia first, and you can take care of this later.'"