China condemns blockade of Iranian ports and calls for continued ceasefire
Kyiv • UNN
Wang Yi stated the harm caused by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz to the global community. Beijing calls for maintaining the fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that blocking Iranian ports does not serve the "common interests" of peace, and called on the international community to "step up its efforts to promote peace talks" at today's meetings with other high-ranking diplomats, UNN reports with reference to CNN.
During a phone call with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar, Wang urged the international community to facilitate negotiations to preserve the "extremely fragile" ceasefire between the US and Iran.
"The urgent task is to prevent the resumption of hostilities and preserve the hard-won momentum of the ceasefire," reads the appeal published by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Separately, Wang met with Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, the United Arab Emirates' special envoy to China, where he noted that the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, which the US began doing earlier today, along with other ports in the Persian and Oman Gulfs, "does not serve the common interests of the international community," according to a summary of the meeting posted on X by Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian.
"Achieving a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire through political and diplomatic means is the fundamental way forward," the post said.
Context
Throughout this war, China has sought to position itself as an outwardly neutral party, while maintaining its relations with Iran, on whose oil it largely depends. US intelligence indicates that Beijing is preparing to supply Iran with new air defense systems within the next few weeks, three sources told CNN. A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington stated that "China has never supplied weapons to any party to the conflict."