• FM Wang says China will work harder to ease Middle East tensions.
• Chinese FM says restart of hostilities in Middle East “unacceptable”.
• Beijing quietly engaging in efforts to resolve Middle East crisis.
  

BEIJING: China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing would play a “greater role” in ending hostilities in the Middle East during talks with his Iranian counterpart on Wednesday, a week before US President Donald Trump is due to meet Xi Jinping.

China is a key customer for Iranian oil, defying sanctions imposed by the US, and is directly affected by the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz bordered by Iran.

Beijing has quietly engaged in efforts to resolve the weekslong crisis and its diplomacy is credited with playing an important role in the fragile ceasefire agreed between Washington and Tehran.

China “will work harder to ease tensions and end the fighting, continue to support the launch of peace talks, and play a greater role in restoring peace and tranquility to the Middle East”, Wang told Iran’s Abbas Araghchi in Beijing.

“China considers that a complete cessation of fighting must be achieved without delay, that it is even more unacceptable to restart hostilities, and that continuing to negotiate remains essential,” Wang said, according to a statement from his ministry after the talks.

Manufacturing giant China has been comparatively sheltered from fuel shortages thanks to oil reserves and renewable energy, but costs of oil-derived materials like plastic and fabric have risen significantly.

More than half of the crude imported by sea to China comes from the Middle East and mainly transits through the Hormuz strait, according to maritime analytics firm Kpler.

Analysts have warned the war’s impact on China will be felt for months.

During Wednesday’s talks Wang said China hopes “the parties concerned will respond as quickly as possible to the urgent call of the international community” for a resumption of normal and safe maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump trip looms 

The Wang-Araghchi talks came as Trump said the US would pause escorting commercial ships through the Hormuz Strait – which drew Iranian attacks – barely a day after it began doing so.

Trump cited a desire to reach a peace deal with Iran.

Washington demands tight controls on Tehran’s nuclear programme, which Iran has refused to agree to and has led to talks crumbling.

“On the nuclear issue, China welcomes Iran’s commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, while considering that Iran has the legitimate right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy,” Wang said.

The US leader is expected to meet Chinese President Xi in Beijing on a visit the White House said will take place May 14-15.

Beijing has not confirmed those dates.

A foreign ministry spokesperson again refused to share details when asked about Trump’s visit at a regular news conference on Wednesday.

Trump would join rulers from the Gulf, Europe and Southeast Asia that have recently landed face time with Xi, who has sought to position China as a stable partner in the face of the US- and Israeli-led conflict.

Trump’s visit would also come more than a year after his sweeping global tariffs wreaked havoc on the supply chain, causing chaos in China’s manufacturing sector.

The World Bank has predicted that transportation through the Strait of Hormuz will not return to the levels prior to the US-Israeli aggression against Iran until late 2026.

In its latest report, the top bank further predicted that the average price of global commodities will rise by 16 percent this year.

According to the report, energy prices are likely to increase by 24 percent during the current calendar year, reaching their highest level since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The World Bank noted that attacks on energy infrastructure and shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, which handles 35 percent of global seaborne crude oil trade, have caused the largest oil supply shock on record.

The US-Israeli aggression against Iran began on February 28 with airstrikes that assassinated senior Iranian officials and commanders, including Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

The Iranian armed forces responded by launching daily missile and drone operations targeting locations in the Israeli-occupied territories as well as US military bases and assets across the region.

Furthermore, Iran retaliated against the strikes by closing the Strait of Hormuz, which resulted in a significant increase in oil prices and its by-products.

In recent days, Washington has escalated its adventurism in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, where the US military’s presence continues to threaten regional stability and international energy routes.

Iran has repeatedly warned US warships against approaching the strategic waterway, with the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) maintaining firm control and showcasing its advanced asymmetric capabilities through regular missile and drone exercises.

• Trump claims ‘great progress’ towards agreement.
• Iran demands fair, comprehensive deal in talks.
• Brent oil price drops under $100 on deal hopes.
  

The United States and Iran are closing in on an agreement on a one-page memorandum to end the war in the Gulf, a source said.

The source said a report earlier by the US media outlet Axios on the proposed memorandum was accurate. The Axios report had cited two US officials and two other sources familiar with the discussions.

“We will close this very soon. We are getting close,” the source added. 

Last month, Pakistan hosted the war’s only peace talks so far, and it has continued in that role of mediator, ferrying proposals between the sides.

Reports of the possible agreement to end the war caused global oil prices to plunge, with benchmark Brent crude futures falling more than 8% to around $100 a barrel LCOc1. Global share prices also leapt and bond yields fell on optimism of an end to a war that has disrupted energy supplies.

The White House, the State Department and Iranian officials contacted by Reuters did not immediately respond to requests for comment. US news channel CNBC quoted a spokesperson from the Iranian foreign ministry as saying Tehran was evaluating a 14-point US proposal.

Axios reported that the White House believed it was closing in on a one-page memorandum to end the war with Iran. The report came hours after US President Donald Trump paused a three-day-old naval mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The Axios report said the US expected Iranian responses on several key points in the next 48 hours.

Among other provisions, Axios said, the deal would involve Iran committing to a moratorium on nuclear enrichment, the US agreeing to lift its sanctions and release billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds, and both sides lifting restrictions around transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

14-point MoU

The one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding was being negotiated between US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and several Iranian officials, both directly and through mediators, Axios said.

In its current form, the memorandum would declare an end to the war in the region and the start of a 30-day period of negotiations on a detailed agreement to open the strait, limit Iran’s nuclear programme and lift US sanctions, Axios added.

Iran’s restrictions on shipping through the strait and the US naval blockade of Iran would be gradually lifted during that 30-day period, Axios said, citing one US official who added that if the negotiations collapsed, US forces would be able to restore the blockade or resume military action.

Earlier, Trump announced a pause to “Project Freedom”, a mission he announced on Sunday to guide ships through the blocked strait. 

The mission had failed to bring about any significant resumption of traffic through the waterway, while provoking a new wave of Iranian strikes on ships in the strait and on targets in neighbouring countries.

In the latest incident, a French shipping company reported on Wednesday that one of its container ships had been struck in the strait the previous day, and that the injured crew had been evacuated.

In announcing he was pausing the mission, Trump cited “great progress” in negotiations with Iran, without giving further details.

“We have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalised and signed,” Trump wrote on social media.

Trump had launched the naval mission to guide ships through the strait after saying he was likely to reject Iran’s latest proposal. The Iranian offer, made last week, also contained 14 points.

It had called for setting aside discussion of nuclear issues until after the war ended and the shipping dispute was resolved.

In comments on a visit to China on Wednesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi made no mention of Trump’s latest remarks, but said Tehran was holding out for “a fair and comprehensive agreement”.

Strait shut since end of February

Iran has effectively shut the Strait to all shipping apart from its own since the United States and Israel launched the war on February 28. In April, Washington imposed its own separate blockade of Iranian ports.

Trump’s Project Freedom mission to use the US Navy to open the strait failed to persuade merchant ships that it was safe, while provoking new attacks from Iran, which said it was expanding the area under its control to include swathes of the coastline of the United Arab Emirates, on the strait’s far side.

While the mission was in effect, Iranian drones and missiles hit several ships in and around the strait, including a South Korean cargo vessel that reported an explosion in its engine room.

Tehran also repeatedly struck targets in the UAE, including the only major Emirati oil port on the coast beyond the strait, which has allowed some exports without crossing through it.