Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Beijing on Wednesday, their first in-person talks since the U.S.-Israel war on Iran began, focusing on the fragile ceasefire and security in the Strait of Hormuz.
Araghchi’s visit comes just one week before U.S. President Donald Trump is due in Beijing for a summit with President Xi Jinping on 14 and 15 May, casting a long shadow over the meeting and injecting it with rare urgency. Analysts say the timing is no accident.
Two issues dominated the agenda: maintaining the ceasefire reached in April and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas once passed.
Since the war began on 28 February, Iran has effectively closed the strait, pushing fuel and fertiliser prices sharply higher and prompting fears of a global recession.
The closure has put Beijing in an uncomfortable position. China has been critical of the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports, calling it dangerous, but has also grown increasingly critical of Iran’s decision to keep the strait shut.
China, the world’s largest buyer of Gulf oil and gas, has absorbed some of the shock through domestic stockpiles and a diversified energy mix, but the strain is mounting.
In Washington, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Beijing to press Iran to release its chokehold on the strait, describing U.S. efforts to reopen it as defensive and aimed at helping thousands of civilian sailors stranded in the Persian Gulf.
“At least 10 sailors have already died as a result,” Rubio said.
So far, the U.S.-guarded corridor has seen only minimal commercial traffic, with hundreds of vessels still bottled up in the region.
For Tehran, the Beijing visit carried its own set of anxieties. Araghchi was reportedly seeking clarity on what Beijing might put on the table when Xi meets Trump, and whether any concessions to Washington could come at Iran’s expense.
On nuclear talks, Araghchi said Iran would do its utmost to protect its legitimate rights and interests, and would only accept a fair and comprehensive agreement.
With Trump touching down in Beijing in just over a week, the stakes could hardly be higher.
How China chooses to balance its partnership with Iran against its fraught but consequential relationship with the United States may well determine whether the region edges towards stability - or a deeper crisis.
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At least 11 people were killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday, among the deadliest since a June ceasefire. Meanwhile, Qatar denied holding Iranian pilots. It said it had found the remains of one pilot after an airspace violation and had contacted Iran to coordinate a handover.
U.S. President Donald Trump says Washington is not seeking an extension of its memorandum of understanding with Iran, claiming the U.S. already controls the Strait of Hormuz through its naval blockade.
Iran has said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils the terms of an interim deal, including lifting the maritime blockade and sanctions and releasing Iran’s frozen assets.
Ukraine has targeted at least 20 Wildberries warehouses across Russia since 18 July, disrupting a major logistics network. Kyiv says the strikes aim to disrupt alleged military-linked supplies, while the attacks have caused billions of dollars in losses and wider economic pressure.
South Korea's presidential Blue House said on Monday it was reviewing U.S. President Donald Trump's comments on scaling back joint military drills. It added that it hoped a favourable relationship between Washington and Pyongyang could lead to meaningful talks.
Britain will continue to support Ukraine “100 per cent” against Russia’s invasion, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Tuesday, after Moscow warned London of consequences over reports that British-made drones had been used in strikes on Russian territory.
Russia has summoned Japan’s ambassador to Moscow and delivered a strong protest over what it called “anti-Russian” remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi concerning four disputed islands.
Pakistan is turning to more U.S. crude as disruption around the Strait of Hormuz exposes the risks of its heavy reliance on Gulf energy supplies.
U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Xavier Brunson visited South Korea's Defence Ministry on Tuesday to discuss plans to scale back the joint Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercise, according to media reports.
European countries are stepping up investment in drones and counter-drone technology as unmanned systems reshape modern warfare, driving demand for new production and capabilities across the continent.
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