China hosts Iran’s top diplomat just days ahead of Trump’s high-stakes visit
BEIJING, CHINA – JULY 15: Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (not seen) hold a meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers in Beijing, China, on July 15, 2025.
Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs | Anatolia | Getty Images
China hosted Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran on Wednesday for the first time since the start of the US-Israeli war, just days before US President Donald Trump’s planned visit to Beijing.
China’s top diplomat Wang Yi held a meeting with Araghchi on Wednesday morning, according to the state-backed Xinhua News Agency.
Chinese state media proactively publicized the visit late Tuesday, citing a foreign ministry statement saying Beijing had initiated the invitation. But official statement He did not announce an agenda.
Iran’s foreign ministry said the talks will cover bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues.
“This meeting is extremely strategic,” said Amir Handjani, a board member of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Government. “Tehran and Beijing align interests ahead of Trump summit with China [Chinese President Xi Jinping]and the timing is intentional.”
However, Handjani noted that China wants stability in the Persian Gulf to maintain trade and energy flows.
“The Chinese leadership has said it wants tankers to move and trade to flow from the Persian Gulf to Asian markets. “They have no appetite for the inflation shock and potential recession that a prolonged blockade would trigger in the region.”
Wang and Araghchi have had at least three phone calls since the start of the Iran war on February 28. Beijing has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and free passage of commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz. In late April, Chinese President Xi Jinping “normal transition” from the important waterway.
Before the war, approximately 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed through the strait. But commercial traffic has slowed sharply in recent weeks.
China, the world’s largest buyer of Gulf oil and gas, has recovered from the Hormuz shock, but domestic stocks and a diversified energy mix have provided some cushion.
Ahead of Trump’s widely anticipated visit to China on May 14-15, the US president’s advisers Call from Beijing to put pressure on Iran to restore commercial shipping.
The director of a Beijing-affiliated think tank previously told CNBC that although China facilitated a temporary ceasefire last month, it lacks the ability and inclination to pressure both sides for negotiations.
Danny Russel, a distinguished researcher at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said that for Tehran, the visit to China is a way to show the United States that “it is not isolated, it has friends and options,” as the Iranian leadership aims to strengthen its bargaining position in the impasse with Washington and deter new American attacks.
Russel added that Tehran is expected to receive assurances from Beijing regarding oil flows, financial channels and diplomatic support against renewed US military action.
In return, he expects Beijing to pressure Iran to stop threatening Gulf infrastructure and commercial shipping and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Russel said that for Xi, this visit could offer an opportunity to position Beijing as a responsible power ahead of Trump’s visit, while limiting China’s own risks.
Trump’s Beijing summit, postponed by more than a month because of the Iran war, offers the US president a critical opportunity to secure commitments to buy American agricultural products, industrial goods and energy from China ahead of midterm elections in November.
Analysts warn that a conflict over Iran risks derailing this plan.
“Trump is at a disadvantage even if he believes the Chinese are merely providing diplomatic protection while keeping Iran economically afloat,” Russell said. “Beijing needs to restrain Tehran, not strengthen it.”
