Chinese President Xi Jinping started a five-day trip to the Middle East on Tuesday.

The timing of President Xi's Middle East visits to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran indicates China's diplomacy has entered its "Middle East time". This is of great significance, as the region is wracked by crises and conflicts.

The Middle East is China's biggest overseas energy supplier and a key part of the Belt and Road Initiative, and the region has great influence on the global situation.

Xi's visit this time is crucial to bilateral, regional and global relations, and it is an important part of China's overall diplomatic deployment.

China doesn't intend to seek exclusive interests or contend for hegemony in the region. It seeks to encourage conflicting parties to manage their differences so that peace and stability can be established in the region.

As to bilateral relations, China adheres to the principles of mutual respect and win-win cooperation and advocates dialogue and cooperation to promote peaceful development.

Xi's visit aims to deepen the cooperation pattern between itself and the countries concerned and forge new cooperation in infrastructure construction, trade and investment, and space technology.