Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has arrived in Beijing as the United States blocks the Strait of Hormuz, through which China imports about a third of its oil supplies. Lavrov received a red-carpet welcome on Tuesday, according to photos shared by Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Beijing and Moscow have condemned the US and Israel over their war on Iran, with China also being economically affected by the energy crisis it has caused.
China, a big importer of Iranian oil, also slammed a recently imposed US scheme to blockade vessels entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including in the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, DC, said the US’s goal is to choke Iran off by blocking everything coming in and out of Iranian ports. The top Russian diplomat told Araghchi it was important to guard against any resumption of hostilities in the Middle East, and said Russia stood ready to help with a settlement, according to a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
It added Araghchi related to Lavrov details of US-Iran talks in Pakistan at the weekend, which failed to reach a breakthrough. Beijing and Moscow are close economic and political partners, and the relationship has deepened further since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Wang also held a call with Lavrov on April 5, when they agreed that Beijing and Moscow would work together to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East.
China welcomed a string of leaders of countries that have been affected by the war and its economic fallout this week, including Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, also known as MBZ. Chinese President Xi Jinping met MBZ and Sanchez on Tuesday morning, and Vietnamese President To Lam is expected in China for a four-day trip. For many states, that message really appeals.” Trump, who is scheduled to visit Beijing next month for talks with Xi, said on Sunday he would hit China’s goods with a 50 percent tariff if it provided military assistance to Tehran.
His comments came the same day CNN reported that US intelligence indicated China was preparing to deliver new air defence systems to Iran within the next few weeks, quoting three people familiar with the assessments. On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo said those reports were “completely fabricated”.
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