China’s foreign minister on Wednesday called for a comprehensive ceasefire in the Iran war, in comments that could inject new energy into stalled efforts to end the two-month conflict between the United States and Iran.
Wang Yi said his country was “deeply distressed” by the conflict. He spoke after meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was visiting Beijing for the first time since the war with the U.S. and Israel started Feb. 28.
China’s close economic and political ties to Tehran give it a unique position of influence. The Trump administration is pressing China to use that relationship to urge the Islamic Republic to open the Strait of Hormuz.
The Chinese minister’s comments followed an earlier statement by U.S. President Donald Trump that he was pausing his short-lived U.S. effort to guide stranded commercial vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz in hopes that a deal could be finalized. A shaky ceasefire has been largely holding, despite exchanges of fire during the U.S. push to reopen the strait on Monday.
Iran’s effective closure of the strait, a vital waterway through which major oil and gas supplies, fertilizer and other petroleum products passed before the war, has sent fuel prices skyrocketing, rattled the global economy and put enormous economic pressure on countries, including major powers like China.
The spot price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell to around $100 per barrel Wednesday, easing significantly from big price jumps earlier in the week. The prices are still well above the roughly $70 a barrel that crude was selling for before the war began.
Trump also due to visit China
Araghchi’s visit to China comes ahead of a planned visit by Trump to Beijing for a high-profile summit May 14-15 with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The trip would be Trump’s first to China during his second term and the first by a U.S. president since Trump visited in 2017.
“We believe that a comprehensive ceasefire is urgently needed, that a resumption of hostilities is not acceptable, and that it is particularly important to remain committed to dialogue and negotiations,” Wang said, according to a video of the meeting.
The Chinese foreign minister said the conflict “has already lasted for more than two months. It has not only caused serious losses to the Iranian people, but also had a severe impact on regional and global peace. China is deeply distressed by this.”
In a televised interview with Iran’s state media from Beijing, Araghchi said his visit included discussions of the Strait of Hormuz as well as Iran’s nuclear program and sanctions imposed on Tehran.
Iran has attained “an elevated international standing” after the war, having proven its capabilities and strength, Araghchi said.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed hope that Beijing would reiterate the need for Iran to release its chokehold on the strait, which would deny its main leverage as Trump demands a major rollback of Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.
“I hope the Chinese tell him what he needs to be told,” Rubio said during a White House briefing Tuesday. “And that is that what you are doing in the strait is causing you to be globally isolated. You’re the bad guy in this.”
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Beijing has made clear that the relevant sides must act “with prudence” and resolve the conflict through dialogue in order to restore peace. He added that China has been actively promoting peace talks and will continue to do so.
In a statement published on the ministry’s website about Wang’s meeting with Araghchi, the foreign ministry said China values Iran’s pledge not to pursue nuclear weapons while affirming its “legitimate right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.”
Trump pauses effort to guide ships out of strait
Hundreds of merchant ships remain bottled up in the Persian Gulf. The U.S. said it had opened a safe shipping lane Monday and sunk six small Iranian boats that had threatened commercial ships in the strait. Only two merchant ships are known to have passed through the U.S.-guarded route.
But Trump announced he was pausing the effort, dubbed Project Freedom, to see whether an agreement with Tehran on ending the war could be reached.
In a social media post Tuesday, Trump said the move was based “on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran.”
Pakistan has been mediating between the U.S. and Iran, and had hosted peace talks between the two sides.
On Wednesday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Trump for what he described as a timely announcement of a pause in the effort to guide ships out of the strait.
In a post on X, Sharif said Trump’s response to requests from Pakistan and other countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, would help advance regional peace, stability and reconciliation.
“Pakistan remains firmly committed to supporting all efforts that promote restraint and a peaceful resolution of conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy,” Sharif said. “We are very hopeful that the current momentum will lead to a lasting agreement that secures durable peace and stability for the region and beyond.”
Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan, Toqa Ezzidin in Cairo and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed.
—E. Eduardo Castillo and Elena Becatoros, Associated Press