Xi Jinping meets Oman's Sultan, calls for Middle East stability
Chinese President Xi Jinping met Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said in Beijing to discuss regional peace.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Xi Jinping meets Oman's Sultan, calls for Middle East stability
Photograph: Xinhua (embedded from source)
What this story says
- President Xi Jinping met Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said of Oman in Beijing on 2 November 2026.
- Xi stated that the Middle East and Gulf region should not become a battleground for great-power rivalry.
- China is willing to enhance communication and coordination with Arab and GCC countries for regional peace and lasting stability, Xi said.
- The Jornal Expresso digest reported Xi called for strengthening energy cooperation with China.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 7 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 5 of the 12 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
56/100
Craft
62/100
Hype
15/100
12 sources · methodology
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said of Oman in Beijing on 2 November 2026. During their talks, Xi stated that the Middle East and Gulf region should not become a battleground for great-power rivalry or geopolitical conflicts. He added that regional peace and stability require joint efforts from all parties.
Xi expressed China's willingness to enhance communication and coordination with Arab and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including Oman, to achieve the early restoration of regional peace and lasting stability. The Jornal Expresso digest reported that Xi also called for strengthening energy cooperation with China during the meeting.
Coverage comparison
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated digests mention Xi Jinping's specific call for strengthening energy cooperation with China, a detail reported by the centre-rated Jornal Expresso digest and the unrated Noticias ao Minuto digest.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 2 Nov 2026, 10:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
1 rated outlet
- The left-rated report from Xinhua, which is a full report, led with Xi Jinping's statement that China is willing to enhance communication and coordination with Arab and GCC countries, including Oman, for the early restoration of regional peace and lasting stability. It also included Xi's remark that the Middle East and Gulf region should not become a wrestling ground for major-country rivalry and geopolitical conflicts, and that regional peace requires joint efforts. The report stated that Xi made these remarks when holding talks with Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik Al Said of Oman in Beijing.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports from Jornal Expresso and Asia One both highlighted Xi Jinping's statement that the Middle East should not become a battleground for great-power rivalry. The Jornal Expresso digest specifically mentioned that Xi called for strengthening energy cooperation with China during his meeting with the Sultan of Oman. The Asia One digest noted that China has traditionally played a low-key diplomatic role but has stepped up efforts to help in the region.
Right
4 rated outlets
- The right-rated reports from The Straits Times, Times Live, Modern Diplomacy, and vz.ru all focused on Xi Jinping's assertion that the Middle East should not become a battleground for great-power rivalry. The Straits Times headline stated "China’s Xi says Middle East should not become battleground for great power rivalry." The Times Live digest reported that Xi said China is willing to work with Arab nations to achieve lasting peace, and that Oman and China discussed deepening trade ties and investment cooperation. Modern Diplomacy's digest mentioned Xi warning against great-power rivalry as China deepens Gulf diplomacy, and seeking a greater diplomatic role to contain the US-Israeli war on Iran. The vz.ru digest reported Xi calling on the US not to turn the Middle East into an arena of rivalry.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Xi Jinping meets Oman's Sultan, calls for Middle East stability?
- Of the 7 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 14% are rated left, 29% are rated centre, 57% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 12. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Xi Jinping meets Oman's Sultan, calls for Middle East stability left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 7 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Xi Jinping meets Oman's Sultan, calls for Middle East stability biased?
- Xi Jinping meets Oman's Sultan, calls for Middle East stability is one event reported by 12 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which outlets covered Xi Jinping meets Oman's Sultan, calls for Middle East stability?
- 12 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- When and where did Xi Jinping meet the Sultan of Oman?
- President Xi Jinping met Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said of Oman in Beijing on 2 November 2026. The meeting took place during the Sultan's visit to China.
- What was Xi Jinping's main message regarding the Middle East?
- Xi Jinping stated that the Middle East and Gulf region should not become a battleground for great-power rivalry or geopolitical conflicts. He emphasised that regional peace and stability require joint efforts from all parties involved.
- What is China's proposed role in the Middle East?
- China is willing to enhance communication and coordination with Arab and GCC countries, including Oman, to achieve the early restoration of regional peace and lasting stability. Xi expressed readiness to strengthen cooperation with Arab nations to help solve the crisis in the region.
Read it at the source
12 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
1Centre
2- Xi Jinping Says the Middle East Shouldn't Be a Stage of Rivalries Between Great Powers (opens Jornal Expresso in a new tab)
Jornal Expresso — is Jornal Expresso biased? Our profile of this outlet
- China's Xi says Middle East should not become battleground for great power rivalry (opens Asia One in a new tab)
Right
4- Xi says China is willing to work with Arab nations to achieve lasting peace (opens Times Live in a new tab)
Times Live — is Times Live biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Xi Warns Against Great-Power Rivalry in Middle East as China Deepens Gulf Diplomacy (opens Modern Diplomacy in a new tab)
Modern Diplomacy — is Modern Diplomacy biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Xi Jinping Called on Us Not to Turn the Middle East Into an Arena of Rivalry. (opens vz.ru in a new tab)
- China’s Xi says Middle East should not become battleground for great power rivalry (opens The Straits Times in a new tab)
The Straits Times — is The Straits Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
5- Xi Jinping: Middle East Must Not Become a Battlefield for Great Power Competition (opens SINDOnews.com in a new tab)
SINDOnews.com — is SINDOnews.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Xi Asks to Avoid Rivalry Between Great Powers in the Middle East (opens Noticias ao Minuto in a new tab)
Noticias ao Minuto — is Noticias ao Minuto biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Xi Jinping: The Middle East Should Not Become a Field of Competition Between Great Powers (opens Capital.gr in a new tab)
Capital.gr — is Capital.gr biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Xi: China ready to assist in solving Middle East crisis (opens BizToc in a new tab)
- Chinese President: Ready to Coordinate with Arab States to Restore Stability (opens IMLebanon in a new tab)
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