Pakistan and China on Tuesday (March 31, 2026) announced a joint five-point West Asia peace plan to end the war that has disrupted oil supplies globally and hit the economy of several nations.
The foreign ministers of the two nations — Ishaq Dar and Wang Yi — discussed the plan during their bilateral meeting. The Pakistan-China joint bid to act as peacemakers in West Asia is seen as a bid to project power and provide an alternative to the region’s security.
The proposal’s priority was an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian access to all affected areas, alongside commencement of peace talks, rooted in respect for the sovereignty of Iran and other Gulf nations.
It also seeks security to vital shipping lanes in the region, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz, and a call to strengthen the UN’s role in the peace framework based on its charter.
The Pakistan-China peace plan’s primacy to the UN is intended to challenge the Western dominance in the Gulf region by positioning a UN-led process.
However, the peace plan is less about humanitarian aid and more about new geopolitical positioning by China, riding on the shoulders of its sidekick Pakistan.
The peace plan serves China’s strategic objective to expand its influence in the energy-rich Gulf region. Pakistan gains by positioning itself as a key mediator between the US and Iran.
Islamabad intends to leverage its mediator role to gain unique access to both Washington and Tehran, apart from filling its begging bowl with international grants and aid to rescue it out of the economic rut it has gotten into.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir landed in Beijing after his visit to the United Arab Emirates to meet with Wang Yi and other senior Chinese leaders to discuss the US-Iran mediation plan.
Pakistan is quite ready to do China’s bidding in the West Asian conflict, while Beijing’s focus is to use Islamabad’s diplomatic reach to prevent the regional spillover of the conflict impacting its interests.