James Kynge

And China's also called for a unified international push

for an immediate ceasefire and further mediation efforts.

And this goes back to what you were saying earlier, Alice.

I think that China will portray itself as the mediator to end this conflict, or perhaps after the conflict has ended, to step in as a mediator between the nations in the region.

And thereby, it will portray itself even more as the peacemaker, whereas the US, as I said earlier,

it will want to be portraying as a kind of a wrecking ball.

So I think China's strategy is pretty clear.

Trump, of course, called on China to help assure the shipping through the Straits of Hormuz.

And I think that the idea that China would cooperate directly with the U.S.

to further the U.S.

objectives in

anything to do with this war in Iran is completely pie in the sky.

China will not want to do that because it wants to portray itself as separate and in opposition to what it calls an unjust war, which has been started by the U.S.

I think, you know, for China, they are keeping their eye on the propaganda gains that they can make from the U.S.

war in Iran.

Yeah, I mean, you know, I think it's too early to say because we don't know what the end of this war will be.

It could be that the U.S.

wins and then the U.S.

gets to set the terms of whatever peace may follow that or whatever situation may follow that.

And under those circumstances, maybe the U.S.