Iran-Saudi deal: What the gambit can mean for China, West Asia, and India

China's big geopolitical card in West Asia, the Saudi-Iran detente announced last week, is an ambitious new gambit that seeks to secure long-term economic interests as well as lay the foundations for political influence in the region, to rival the role that the United States has traditionally played. Scene setter for Xi's third term The March 9 announcement of the deal came when the National People's Congress, the Chinese parliament, was in session. As expected, the session confirmed President Xi Jinping's third term. The Iran-Saudi deal appeared to usher in with a bang Xi's new 24-character slogan for China: Be…