As the United States and Iran pursue a second round of talks on a ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, China is also engaging in broad diplomatic outreach. Analysts say Beijing is joining pressure on Iran while criticizing the United States, laying diplomatic groundwork with an eye to the period after the upcoming U.S.-China summit.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, from the 14th to the 15th, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Khalid bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President, visited China and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. In his meeting with Prime Minister Sanchez on the 14th, Xi said, “The world must not return to the law of the jungle”, and in talks with Crown Prince Khalid he presented four principles for peace and stability in the Middle East, stating his first position on the U.S.-Iran war.

After paying a courtesy call on Xi on the morning of the 15th, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov held a press conference in Beijing and stated, “China and Russia will support countries that have suffered energy damage due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz”. The same day, in a meeting with President Lam, Xi outlined plans for ChinaVietnam energy cooperation. In the afternoon, Wang Yi, Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission and Minister of Foreign Affairs, spoke by phone with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, saying the present moment is “an important juncture to shift from war to peace” and “the aspiration of the international community”, and he called for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

China has been criticizing the United States while also joining pressure on Iran regarding the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, releasing most related messages in the form of joint statements with third countries. It is also maintaining close contact with Pakistan, a mediator in the U.S.-Iran war and a friendly nation to China.

China has long been regarded as stepping back from military involvement in Middle East affairs and therefore failing to exert practical influence on developments. The five-point conditions for peace and stability in the Middle East that China announced with Pakistan, as well as the four principles set out by Xi, are seen as broadly reflecting established Chinese diplomatic tenets. Even so, some analysis holds that consistent messaging by Beijing will ultimately bring diplomatic benefits for China.

Jonathan Fulton, a nonresident fellow with the Atlantic Council Middle East Program and the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative, assessed that “China has a position that is consistent but often not decisive, and it often leaves regional actors who expect concrete support disappointed”, while also “reinforcing the argument that the current U.S.-led international order is unstable and unsustainable and creating space for a broader coalition of states to form around alternative order designs”.

Enji Arafa, a lecturer at Cairo University in Egypt, wrote in a contribution to the NYU-run webzine ‘IR Insider’ that “the expansion of Chinese influence creates a new dimension of interaction rather than replacing existing alliances”, and forecast that the economic and financial order of the Middle East will become more deeply integrated with China.

After the first round of talks with Iran collapsed, the United States has been highlighting a narrative of China being responsible. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on the 14th (local time) that China is stockpiling oil and controlling domestically produced sulfuric acid, calling it an unreliable partner. U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer said on the 10th that ChinaIran ties are complicating U.S.China relations.

Because U.S. economic and trade officials are pressing China, some view this as an attempt, linked to the U.S.China summit one month away, to put Beijing forward as a problem-solver for Middle East issues. However, Bloomberg News reported that some in China see this as indicating that President Trump has been cornered by the Iran war.

While conducting broad diplomacy that contrasts with the United States, China is also strengthening national security measures with the Trump administration’s China containment steps in mind. Since the 7th, China has been implementing the ‘Regulations on Industrial Supply Chain Security’. The measure allows direct sanctions on foreign companies pursuing a move away from China. The Wall Street Journal assessed that this “quietly strengthened retaliatory tools ahead of the U.S.China summit”.

China is also energetically advancing diplomatic moves with the U.S.China summit in mind. Before calling on Xi, Minister Lavrov met Wang Yi and discussed issues including Iran, Ukraine, the South China Sea, and the Korean Peninsula. Wang visited North Korea on the 9th and 10th and met Kim Jong-un, and Xi met Kuomintang Chairman Cheng Li-yuan on the 10th. China is expected to press its interests firmly against the United States regarding regional dynamics.