Have Trump’s failures turned China into the world’s most powerful country?
Will countries affected by the war in Iran turn to Xi Jinping to solve the crisis despite concerns over trusting China?
Listen to this article
What’s the story?
Could it be that one unexpected outcome of Donald Trump's war in Iran is that China is now the most influential country in the world? It's not out of the question.
The situation in Iran, and the wider Middle East is a terrible mess.
The current ceasefire is conditional only, with Israel still killing people in Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, and – as a tit-for-tat countermeasure – the US navy is now blocking shipping ports in Iran.
Across the world, people look on in horror while trying to scrape together enough to put petrol in their car as fuel prices skyrocket.
But if America is one of the causes of the problem, could another superpower be the solution?
"Whether it's the Gulf countries, whether it's Europe – people are going to Xi Jinping and saying you've got to get involved in this," says Emily Maitlis.
"Because that's what's going to actually end the blockade."
Why is this happening?
This week, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will meet with China's leader Xi Jinping to discuss the war in Iran, and the problems it has caused worldwide.
It is one of the world's biggest importers of oil from Iran, despite sanctions on the Middle Eastern country.
"Pedro Sanchez has basically gone over there to petition China to get involved," Emily says.
"Xi Jinping has essentially talked about the disarray, the irresponsibility of this Iran war, and said they have to reset it."
Beijing's position was that China and Spain were now the "morally upright nations" in the Iran situation, Emily adds.
"We're in this place where China has essentially leapfrogged America to become the place that you go to sort out the problems of the world.
"Suddenly you're seeing China as the central court in all this."
Jon Sopel says Donald Trump will neither want to allow a Chinese tanker to pass through the Strait, nor would he want a confrontation with one of their vessels.
Where is the UK in all this?
This week, Xi Jinping will also meet the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, the UK currently sits at the other end of the global axis, and Keir Starmer intends to meet with Emmanuel Macron – both Trump allies – this week.
"The two have tried so hard to cozy up to him," Emily says.
"Now they realise that they are both irrelevant, but deeply involved in the Strait of Hormuz."
Is any of this a good thing?
Lewis Goodall is not optimistic about China's potential role as a saviour in this situation – no matter how low opinion may be of America.
"China has been the country which has helped keep Iran's theocratic, awful regime – the one that's been murdering its own people – afloat all these years by buying this copious amount of oil despite sanctions," he says.
"We may be very unhappy with the United States at the moment, but if we're looking to China to be a guarantor of the security and world order that we value as Europeans, I think we're going to be sorely disappointed."