Urges immediate ceasefire, political resolution as concerns mount over survival of US-Iran ceasefire
\n beijing
\nChinese President Xi Jinping called for normal passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz to be maintained, in a phone call on Monday with Saudi Arabia\u2019s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held as Beijing steps up efforts to help end US-Israel war against Iran.
\nChina is concerned over renewed instability around the strategic waterway, as a US-Iran ceasefire came under fresh strain after the US seized an Iranian cargo ship and Tehran signalled it would not join new peace talks for now.
\nChina is the main buyer of Iranian crude. Iran has largely closed the strait to ships other than its own since the US and Israel launched the war in February, while Washington has imposed a blockade of Iranian ships since last week.
\nChina advocates an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire, and insists on resolving conflicts in the Middle East through political and diplomatic channels, state news agency Xinhua cited Xi as saying. \u201cThe Strait of Hormuz should remain open to normal passage, as this serves the common interests of regional countries and the international community,\u201d he told the Saudi leader.
\nWorries have mounted over the survival of the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran after the US seizure of the Iranian vessel. Trump had credited Beijing with helping to get Iran to the previous negotiations with the US in Pakistan.
\nThe Chinese foreign ministry on Monday expressed concerns over the \u201cforced interception\u201d by the US of the Iranian ship, while urging relevant sides to abide by the ceasefire agreement.
\nXi\u2019s call with the Saudi crown prince followed a meeting in Beijing last week with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, when Xi urged adherence to international law.
\nHe also told the Saudi crown prince that China supports countries in the Middle East in \u201ctaking their future and destiny into their own hands, and promoting long-term regional stability and peace\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Urges immediate ceasefire, political resolution as concerns mount over survival of US-Iran ceasefire beijing Chinese President Xi Jinping called for normal passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz to be maintained, in a phone call on Monday with Saudi Arabia\u2019s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held as Beijing steps up efforts to help end […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":542973,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-542959","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n