On October 13, a high-profile Middle East Peace Summit was held in Egypt, attracting the participation of more than 30 countries and international organizations, including the Secretary-General of the United Nations, non-Middle East countries such as Japan and India.

The summit aims to promote the second phase agreement of the Gaza war and expand the scope of the Abraham Accords to promote more Muslim countries to establish diplomatic relations with Israel.

However, China-Russia¡¯s absence and U.S. concerns have been the focus of the summit, adding more uncertainty to the future of the Middle East peace process.

The core goal of this summit is to promote regional stability, and one of the important agendas is to expand the Abraham Accords.

Since the signing of the agreement in 2020, countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have established diplomatic relations with Israel, marking a diplomatic shift from confrontation to cooperation among some Arab countries.

However, the expansion of the deal still faces huge resistance, especially from opposition forces such as Iran.

The Egyptian Foreign Minister revealed at the summit that after the Gaza War, more Arab countries may sign peace agreements with Israel, which provides a new opportunity for regional peace.

It is worth noting that China and Russia, as members of the five permanent members of the United Nations, did not participate in the summit. This absence triggered extensive discussions.

In an interview with the media, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bescent even speculated that China's recent rare earth control measures may be an effort to "cover up peace in Gaza."

While this view is lacking in direct evidence, it reflects U.S. caution about China¡¯s potential interference in Middle East affairs.

There may be many reasons for China and Russia's absence: on the one hand, the United States may want to avoid China and Russia interfering in the Middle East peace process to complicate the situation; on the other hand, China and Russia's own diplomatic priorities may not fully align with the agenda of the summit.

In recent years, China has strengthened its economic cooperation with the Middle East through the Belt and Road Initiative, while Russia has consolidated its geopolitical influence through the Syrian war, with significant differences in the two countries' attitude toward peace in the Middle East and the United States.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu originally planned to attend the summit, but eventually refused because of a religious holiday.

After all, half of the more than 20 countries participating in the meeting have not yet established diplomatic relations with Israel. Netanyahu's presence may embarrass some Muslim countries and affect the atmosphere of unity at the summit.

At the same time, Iran explicitly rejected Egypt's invitation on the grounds that the goals of the summit completely deviated from its foreign policy. Iran believes it is unacceptable to push more Muslim countries to recognize Israel's sovereignty.

In addition, Hamas¡¯ non-invitation also highlighted divisions within Palestine.Abbas¡¯s presence represented the orthodox faction of the Palestinian national authority, but Hamas¡¯s absence meant that the summit could not fully cover all Palestinian voices.

The U.S. played an important role at the summit, but its concerns about the future are obvious.In addition to China-Russia caution, the U.S. also faces pressure on how to maintain its dominance in the Middle East.

After the end of the Gaza war, the stability of the Middle East is still full of uncertainty, and expanding the Abraham Accords also needs to overcome resistance from Iran and other opposition forces.

In addition, the U.S. attention to China¡¯s rare-earth policy also shows the extension of the Sino-U.S. competition on the Middle East issue.The Middle East, as an important global energy and geopolitical hub, the actions of any major power can impact U.S. strategic interests.

Although the summit attracted the participation of many countries in a short period of time, the absence of China, Russia, Israel and Iran still cast a shadow over the outcome of the summit.

In the future, the advancement of the Middle East peace process will depend on whether all parties can find common interests, especially in the context of increasingly complex geopolitical games.

As the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China said, China supports all measures conducive to peace in the Middle East, but achieving lasting peace remains a common problem faced by the international community.