Abbas Araghchi Meets Wang Yi in Beijing as China Urges Hormuz Reopening

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met China’s counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing on Wednesday as tensions with the United States mounted over the Strait of Hormuz. Araghchi’s visit came a week before U.S. President Donald Trump visits Beijing for a summit with President Xi Jinping on May 14 and 15. During the meeting, Araghchi said China is a close friend of Iran and that “cooperation will even become stronger under current circumstances,” according to the Iranian Students’ News Agency. Wang called for Iran and the U.S. to reopen the strait “as soon as possible,” while also saying China considers “a complete cessation of fighting must be achieved without delay.”

“Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has met his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing as tensions with the United States mount over the Strait of Hormuz”

Al Jazeera

China pressed for an immediate end to hostilities while urging warring powers to continue diplomatic negotiations in the run-up to Trump’s Beijing trip. In Beijing, Wang told Araghchi that “We believe that a comprehensive ceasefire is urgently needed,” and said a resumption of hostilities is not acceptable, according to a video of the meeting. The meeting also unfolded as Trump threatened Iran with more bombing if it doesn’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz, writing, “If they don’t agree, the bombing starts,” in a social media post. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he hoped the Chinese would tell Araghchi that “what you are doing in the strait is causing you to be globally isolated,” framing Iran as “the bad guy in this.”

The sources tie China’s diplomacy to the Strait of Hormuz and the broader effort to shift from war to peace ahead of the May 14-15 Trump-Xi summit. The Chinese foreign ministry said the regional situation was “at a critical juncture of transition from war to peace,” and urged the “parties involved” to promptly restore “normal and safe passage” through the Strait of Hormuz. The same reporting links the dispute to energy flows, noting that before the war “about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed through the strait.” It also describes U.S. pressure on Beijing to influence Tehran, with CNBC quoting Amir Handjani saying, “Tehran and Beijing are aligning their interests before Trump's summit with [Chinese President Xi Jinping], and the timing is deliberate.”