Xi Zinping's big coup

China's president has launched his third term in office with a mighty diplomatic coup: brokering an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran to renew diplomatic relations. Agaist all the odds. Iran is a hate nation in much of the Middle East because of its malevolent activities, upsetting any chance of stability in the region. And of course Iran is the number one enemy for Israel. But the announcement yesterday of a rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran is a spectacular development, although Israel will be suspicious and angry because relations with Saudia Arabia have improved significantly in recent years. The most interesting ingredient in this diplomatic about-turn is China's involvement. As far as I know there was no American footprint in this behind-the-scenes brokering, so Xi Zinping comes out of looking like the supreme statesman. Xi will bask in the limelight and Washington will feel it has been pushed to one side. This is one of the main objectives of the Chinese leader, to undermine America's global standing and place China in the forefront of international affairs. The Saudi/Iranian coup has set him up nicely for his third term. We can expect more, much more in the years ahead and the US will have to keep on its toes.