China is trying to play peacemaker in the Iran war – will it work?

As the war in the Middle East enters its second month, choking the world’s energy supply and sending oil prices soaring, China is trying to step in as a peacemaker. It comes as President Donald Trump says US military action in Iran could end in “two to three weeks”, but there is no clear sense yet of how that will happen or what comes after. China joins Pakistan, which has emerged as an unlikely mediator in the US-Israel war against Iran. Officials in Beijing and Islamabad have presented a five-point plan with the aim of bringing about a ceasefire and…