Iran FM meets with Chinese side to discuss “regional and international expansion”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with US President Donald Trump in Beijing on Wednesday, just one week before his visit to China.
It will be the first time that top diplomats from the two allies have met in person since the war began, and Araghchi’s visit to China will be the latest stop in a recent diplomatic career aimed at boosting support for Iran and resolving the conflict with the United States.
China has played an important but indirect role in the war, providing Tehran with a financial lifeline as its largest oil importer, while also working behind the scenes to mediate the conflict. President Trump even suggested that China helped bring Iran to the negotiating table.
In recent days, U.S. officials have called on China to use its influence on Iran to pressure it to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has led preliminary talks with the Chinese side ahead of Trump’s visit, said in an interview Monday that China could do more to allow ships to pass through the strait.
“Let’s see if China steps up its diplomacy and urges Iran to open the strait,” Bessent told Fox News.
And on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Iran of trying to “hold the global economy hostage.”
“I want the Chinese to tell him (Mr Araguchi) what they need to tell him, and that is that what you are doing in the Straits is isolating you globally,” he said.
At the same time, the United States is ramping up economic pressure on China, targeting so-called teapot refineries that buy sanctioned oil from Iran. In response, the Chinese government ordered its refineries not to comply with or enforce U.S. sanctions.
After Wednesday’s meeting, Araghchi said cooperation between Iran and China would be “stronger than ever” and called Beijing “a sincere friend of Tehran,” according to Iranian state media Mehr news agency.
President Trump’s visit to China is scheduled for May 14 and 15, and will include a rare face-to-face meeting with Xi Jinping, according to the White House.
CNN’s Kit Maher, Kevin Liptak, Adam Canklin, Zachary Cohen, Ross Adkin and John Liu contributed reporting.
