CHINE PERSPECTIVE

Chinese media coverage on day 25 perfectly illustrates Beijing's paradox: maximum verbal condemnation, minimum action. The Foreign Ministry maintains its position of 'firm opposition and strong condemnation' of US-Israeli operations, invoking the absence of UN Security Council authorization and violations of international law. Wang Yi declared that 'might does not make right,' warning that the strikes prove 'the world has regressed to the law of the jungle.' But behind this rhetoric, China has offered Iran no substantive assistance.

The Al Jazeera and Time Magazine analyses of 'China's silence' constitute the most revealing meta-narrative of the Chinese position. Xi Jinping was not notified of the military operations, and China dispatched a special envoy to the region only to prevent Iran's neighbors from joining the fray — not to defend Iran itself. CNN highlights that the US eliminated two leaders close to China in two months without Beijing reacting. This cold pragmatism reveals that Iran ranks below Xi's top priority: the stability of US-China relations, particularly the upcoming summit with Trump.

Chinese coverage distinguishes itself through its ability to transform the crisis into an economic opportunity. Analysis of the conflict's impact on China's electric vehicle industry — with high oil prices accelerating the transition to Chinese EVs — is an angle entirely absent from Western media. This opportunistic reading, with a notably more optimistic tone than the rest of coverage, illustrates China's strategic vision where every geopolitical disruption is evaluated through the prism of competitive advantages for the national economy.

Chinese blind spots are systemic: total absence of criticism of the Iranian regime (nuclear program, internal repression, support for armed groups), minimization of civilian casualties on all sides, and careful avoidance of any questioning of Iranian actions. The Chinese diplomat who tells his Iranian counterpart that 'talking is always better than continuing to fight' summarizes Beijing's posture: a rhetorical referee that prefers to preserve trade relations with all parties rather than take a real geopolitical risk.