China encourages Iran and the United States to remain rational, exercise restraint, return to the Islamabad memorandum and "engage in substantive consultations," Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart in Beijing on Wednesday.

"We urge all parties to take effective measures to reopen the Strait of Hormuz at an early date" to safeguard the stability of international energy transport and supply chains, Wang said, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, adding that China "does not want to see regional tensions to spill over further into Yemen ⁠and the Red Sea."

He said the continued prolongation of the US-Iran conflict is not in the common interest of the parties concerned and the international community.

Tehran and Washington should "rebuild ⁠the negotiation mechanism based on ⁠the consensus reached so far," Wang told Abbas Araghchi, who is on a one-day visit to ⁠Beijing.

The talks between the two diplomats came a week ahead of an expected meeting between President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in Washington.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on ⁠Tuesday that Xi and Trump would continue discussions on Iran.

Beijing, the main buyer of Tehran's oil, had repeatedly stressed the need to restore normal and safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, but has largely refrained from directly challenging Tehran's ⁠threats to shipping.

"The current situation once again demonstrates that the existing security architecture in the Middle East is inadequate and needs to be reformed and strengthened," Wang said on Wednesday.

China stands ready to promote peace, fairness and justice in the region, and its policy towards Iran has remained consistent and stable, he added. (Reuters/Xinhua)



Edited by Tony Sabine