China hosts Iran’s top diplomat days before Trump’s Beijing visit
China received Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Beijing on Wednesday, the first visit by Iran’s top diplomat since the outbreak of the Iran war and just days before U.S. President Donald Trump’s scheduled trip to China. Chinese state media said senior diplomat Wang Yi met Araghchi in the morning, with Beijing having extended the invitation.
The official readout did not disclose an agenda. Iran’s foreign ministry said the talks would address bilateral ties as well as regional and international issues. Analysts described the timing as strategic. Amir Handjani of the Quincy Institute said Tehran and Beijing were aligning their interests ahead of Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
He added that China’s priority is stability in the Persian Gulf to keep tankers moving and trade flowing into Asian markets, noting Beijing has little appetite for an inflation shock and potential recession that a prolonged blockade could trigger. Wang and Araghchi have held at least three phone calls since the Iran war began on February 28.
Beijing has repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire and for commercial shipping to move freely through the Strait of Hormuz. In late April, Xi urged “normal passage” through the vital waterway. Before the war, about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas transited the strait, but commercial traffic has slowed sharply in recent weeks.
As the world’s largest buyer of Gulf oil and gas, China has so far absorbed the Hormuz shock, helped by domestic stockpiles and a diversified energy mix. Still, the slowdown underscores the stakes for Beijing, which has emphasized the need to keep sea lanes open.
In the run-up to Trump’s May 14–15 visit, U.S. advisers have urged Beijing to pressure Iran to restore commercial shipping. A director at a Beijing-affiliated think tank previously said China lacked both the capability and the inclination to push either side into negotiations, despite facilitating a temporary ceasefire last month.
For Tehran, the Beijing trip signals to Washington that it is not isolated and has options, said Danny Russel of the Asia Society Policy Institute. He said Iran is expected to seek assurances from China on oil flows, financial channels, and diplomatic backing against renewed U.S.
military action. In return, he expects Beijing to press Iran to stop threatening Gulf infrastructure and commercial shipping and to move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Russel added that the visit could allow Xi to cast China as a responsible power before Trump’s arrival while limiting China’s exposure.
Trump’s Beijing summit — delayed by more than a month because of the Iran war — is seen as a key moment for the U.S. president to secure Chinese commitments to buy American farm goods, industrial products, and energy ahead of the November midterm elections. Analysts warn that a confrontation over Iran could derail those plans.
As Russel put it, Trump needs Beijing to restrain Tehran, not empower it.