China has urged the US and Iran to return to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, as Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to meet his US counterpart, Donald Trump, next week in Washington.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the call during his meeting with Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, who is on a one-day trip to Beijing, according to a statement by China’s foreign ministry on Wednesday.
The continued prolongation of the US-Iran conflict “is not in the common interest of the parties concerned and the international community,” Wang told Araghchi.
“China encourages Iran and the United States to stay rational and exercise restraint, return to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding at an early date, rebuild the negotiation mechanism based on the consensus reached so far, and conduct substantive consultations on issues of respective concern,” Wang said.
The memorandum was signed in June after mediation by Pakistan and Qatar.
Red Sea
Backing Tehran’s dialogue with Gulf states, Wang called for mutual respect for territorial sovereignty and national security and “constructively safeguarding the common interests of the region.”
“We urge all parties to take effective measures to open the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible, maintain the safety and smooth flow of international shipping lanes, and safeguard the stability of international energy transportation and supply chains,” said the Chinese foreign minister.
China does “not want regional tensions to spill further over into Yemen and the Red Sea,” Wang said, as the Yemeni Houthi group and Saudi Arabia engaged in air strikes.
“We call on all parties to stop further complicating the situation and resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation,” he stressed.
Beijing to ‘safeguard Tehran’
Wang assured Araghchi that China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, “is willing to play a constructive role in resolving international disputes.”
