By Antoni Slodkowski and Liz Lee
BEIJING, May 6 (Reuters) - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met China's top diplomat in Beijing on Wednesday, underscoring close ties between the two countries shortly before U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to travel to meet with Xi Jinping.
Araqchi's visit, announced by state news agency Xinhua, is his first trip to China since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran set off the most severe global oil supply shock in history, threatening the energy security of China,
the world's top crude importer.
After the meeting, Iran's foreign ministry said that Araqchi briefed Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the talks with the U.S. and said: "Iran, just as it demonstrated strength in defending itself and remains fully prepared to confront any aggression, is also serious and steadfast in the field of diplomacy."
"We will do our best to protect our legitimate rights and interests in the negotiations," Araqchi said, according to the Iranian Students' News Agency. "We only accept a fair and comprehensive agreement," he added, with regard to talks between Tehran and Washington.
The Chinese foreign ministry said after the talks that "the current regional situation is at a critical juncture of transition from war to peace," adding that "China believes that a complete cessation of hostilities is imperative, restarting the conflict is unacceptable and persisting in negotiations is particularly important."
It also urged the "parties involved" to promptly restore "normal and safe passage" through the Strait of Hormuz. On the nuclear issue, it said that "China appreciates Iran's commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, while also recognizing Iran's legitimate right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy."
Earlier this week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged China to intensify its diplomatic efforts to persuade Iran to open the strait to international shipping.
Bessent said Trump and Xi would exchange views on Iran in person during their May 14 to 15 talks in Beijing. He added the two will seek to keep the U.S.-China relationship on track following a trade truce in October.
Bessent urged China to "join us in this international operation" to open the strait, but did not specify what actions Beijing should take. He added that China and Russia should stop blocking initiatives at the United Nations, including a resolution encouraging steps to protect commercial shipping in the strait.
FLURRY OF ACTIVITY
Earlier this week, the U.S. and Iran launched new attacks in the Gulf as they wrestled for control over the strait with duelling maritime blockades, threatening what was already a fragile truce.
Trump later said the U.S. Navy would help ships pass through the strait. But that operation was paused after Trump on Tuesday said there had been "great progress" made toward a comprehensive agreement with Iran.
There was no immediate reaction from Tehran.
The Iranian foreign minister on Monday said the attacks, taking place after he said Tehran was looking into Trump's request for negotiations, showed there was no military solution to the crisis.
China has engaged in a flurry of diplomatic activity and refrained from forceful criticism of the U.S.' conduct of the war so that the summit, already postponed once by the conflict, can go smoothly, analysts have told Reuters.
"Given the role that China played in helping to bring Iran to the negotiating table the first time around, I imagine that China will play an important role diplomatically if Iranians could come back to the negotiating table," said Ali Wyne, an advisor at the International Crisis Group.
"I think that China is also worried that a more protracted conflict between the United States and Iran would further strain its relationships with Gulf countries."
Before the war, China bought more than 80% of Iran's shipped oil, data for 2025 from analytics firm Kpler shows.
Last week, China escalated its opposition to U.S. sanctions against Chinese oil refineries over purchases of Iranian crude. Its Ministry of Commerce ordered companies not to comply with U.S. sanctions against five independent refiners, including the recently designated Hengli Petrochemical, invoking for the first time a law that allows Beijing to retaliate against entities enforcing sanctions that it deems unlawful.
(Reporting by Antoni Slodkowski, Liz Lee, Mei Mei Chu and Dubai Newsroom; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Thomas Derpinghaus)
